Fatal Dreaming
by Clara-Soul
Summary: When Chat Noir is struck with a curse, his sleep becomes insufferable as he repeatedly witnesses his worst fear. (All characters and settings belong to the creators of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. I own nothing)
1. Chapter 1: Lucid

**Warning ahead of time:** This story contains occasional cussing, sensitive topics, and sometimes gruesome chapters that may or may not have a warning on them.

* * *

Little girls should not cause this much destruction.

Nor should they be using a dreamcatcher as a weapon, to cause Parisians to fall asleep on the spot. The city was in shambles, cars piled up left and right, their drivers in a deep slumber. Many families were worried for their sleeping loved ones, the fear of them succumbing to the dreams fresh in their minds. Ladybug and Chat Noir had faced many foes in the past, but never had they faced one quite so disastrous.

Standing atop one of the many rooftops of Paris, the two heroes stood before the dreadful akuma, a young child around the age of seven, who had suffered one too many nightmares. Dreamcatcher in hand, her bright violet locks framed her face in an almost anti-gravity way, as she faced the only two beings in her way.

Chat Noir stood alongside his dear partner, baton at the ready. He never imagined one little girl would wreak so much havoc in Paris, but he was more than ready to put an end to it. Ladybug took a pace toward the akumatized girl, who went by the name Lucid.

"Lucid! You must stop this!" Ladybug shouted.

She responded harshly in her young tone, "Nobody understands, Ladybug! I'm tired of all these nightmares. All I want are good dreams!"

"Well she's clearly not _feline_ good," Chat joked with a smirk.

He was shushed by a quick glare from his spotted companion, but Chat Noir could've sworn he saw a glint of amusement in her bluebell eyes. He turned his attention back to the villainous little girl, who was now fuming with annoyance.

 _Who knew one of the most fierce akumas we'd ever face would be so young and innocent?_ Chat thought, _So small, and yet causing so much peril in the city._

"No one understands me!" Lucid cried cutting into Chat's thoughts, "Everyone needs to sleep and have good dreams, and I'll make sure it happens!"

Ladybug protested, "Lucid, making people sleep isn't something you can just do at any time. It's dangerous! You need to learn that!"

A small smile formed on Chat Noir's lips. His lady was always so intelligent, knowing just what to say. However, Lucid screeched with rage, clearly not impressed, and Chat Noir stepped up to Ladybug's side. The two of them prepared their defenses, yo-yo and baton, with narrowed eyes at the living nightmare. Lucid's blazing eyes met with Ladybug's.

"I've just about had enough of you! I won't let you stop my dreams!" she screamed.

Lucid raised her dreamcatcher into the air, the object shining a dark purple as the akuma rested inside. It started to shine, glowing more bright by the moment as it gave off a harsh black light, and with no warning she unleashed her wrath. The young girl with a dark, glittering mask like the night sky held forth her dreamcatcher, which was now nearly bursting with energy. With no warning, a huge, powerful beam was released from the weavings, bringing along a dark light and an ear-piercing ring with it.

Ladybug stood wide-eyed, as the terrifying blast headed her way in seconds. Chat looked at her frantically. It would only be a few short moments before the cataclysmic beam hit Ladybug, so with no further thought the black cat with the mask ran at Ladybug. It was getting so close!

Three...

Two...

One...

Chat Noir's shoulder made contact with Ladybug's, and with all the force he could muster he slammed the spotted heroine aside, as the blast connected with his chest and immediately sent a terrible, searing pain throughout his entire body. A scream of agony escaped him, and in a cloud of purple and black sparks surrounding him, Chat Noir clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground, blond locks falling in his face.

"CHAT!"

Chat Noir barely made out his partner's scream. All he could feel was the intense throb that now resided in the middle of his chest. His vision blurred. Chat's senses started to fade, as the only thing he could hear was his own panting, and the only thing he could feel was complete and utter pain. Then, mere moments later, silence and blackness wrapped around Chat Noir like a blanket as he felt his consciousness slip away for good.

* * *

 _Cold. He felt so cold. His face and, as a matter of fact, half of his whole body, was laying against something hard. He tried to open his eyes, but they seemed stuck closed. Chat Noir tried to make out his surroundings as his senses slowly returned, which isn't easy to begin with when you're eyes won't open. He heard an eerie silence, only broken by the whistling of wind and the occasional tinkle of what sounded like broken glass. The chill that swept over his body made Chat shiver, and at last he managed to crack open his cat-like eyes._

 _He was met with a depressing landscape. It was a city, desolate and destroyed, no living creature in sight. What looked to once be a lively place was now nothing but an abandoned wasteland. Chat was laying on his side against hard pavement, and a groan escaped his lips as he sat himself up._

 _'What happened to me?' Chat thought. He tried to remember, but it was certainly a struggle. 'Ladybug and I were fighting Lucid, and I got struck with that blast. After that... oh, I can't remember!'_

 _A sudden scream broke it's way into Chat's thoughts, causing him to jump with alarm. He could tell that the scream wasn't simply from fear. It was bloodcurdling, sounding as if it was forced out of a victims raw throat during a session of torture. Although the scream was far in another area of the deserted city, Chat staggered to his feet and took off in the direction of it. Whoever it was who had screamed, they were certainly in pain._

 _As Chat Noir raced along the broken grey rooftops, he looked around at the terrible view. Most buildings were either crashed to the ground, or broken into pieces, with very few still in decent condition. Various household objects were littered all over the roads and sidewalks, along with shattered glass and broken building parts everywhere you looked. However, there was one element that frightened Chat Noir most of all about this place. Dead bodies._

 _"Holy shit..." he muttered._

 _A strong nausea suddenly formed at the bottom of his stomach, and he had to force himself not to vomit at the sight._

 _Corpses of fallen citizens were strewn everywhere. Bloody, torn, rotting corpses. Many of small children or elderly people, and Chat had to hold back tears, even though he didn't know any of these people. He felt as if his heart was breaking apart, but he warned himself not to focus on his current location as he approached the area of the scream._

 _Although, as he had taken in his surroundings Chat Noir already figured out where he was. It was Paris. His beautiful home, now gone. Wrecked. Absolutely destroyed. The Eiffel Tower sitting in ruins in the distance._

 _"Gaaugh! H-help!"_

 _Very close by, another painful shriek emerged from what sounded like the same voice. A familiar voice at that. Chat ran to the area where the sound had come from, and looking down from the roof he stood upon at the streets, he spotted his very familiar companion._

 _"Ladybug?" he muttered to himself in disbelief. What was she doing here?_

 _As Chat Noir got closer, he was able to better make out the situation. Ladybug was very tattered, her suit torn and her hair messy, cuts present all across her body, as her blue, pain filled eyes were directed at the figure who stood before her. She was bleeding... a lot. The heroine was clasping a spot on her stomach which, Chat could see through her fingers, was quickly oozing scarlet liquid. He shifted his gaze to the being who stood over Ladybug. From the back, Chat could tell that she was a teenager. She bore floating violet locks, a black skirt, and was clutching a dreamcatcher._

 _'A dreamcatcher?' Chat thought, 'Then that means...'_

 _"Lucid..." Ladybug rasped, "Please... haven't you c-caused me enough pain yet?"_

 _Chat Noir felt his hairs rise. His lady sounded so terribly in pain. How long had he been asleep if Lucid was now a teenager? In fact, Ladybug herself bore an older, more mature appearance._

 _The akumatized girl snickered, "Not quite. You've still got life left in you, haven't you? We can still have more fun."_

 _It was at just this moment that Chat came to the attention of what Lucid bore in her other hand. As she lifted it, he recognized the gleaming, silver blade of a dagger. Anger surged through Chat Noir as he leaped out from his hiding place, and wielded his baton._

 _"You won't lay another finger on her!" he shouted._

 _Lucid spun around with shock, and Chat had no hesitation as he charged at her and swung his fist at her cheek. He wasn't normally this enraged, but the adrenaline that rushed through his veins knowing that Ladybug was suffering caused him to lash out much more. He felt ready to kill!_

 _Chat Noir knocked Lucid to the ground with the hit, and when he rushed at her to throw another punch his fist connected with thin air instead of skin. He blinked with surprise as Lucid suddenly vanished._

 _"W-what? How?" he stuttered with shock, but Chat decided not to dwell on it as he turned to Ladybug._

 _The red spotted girl was still clasping her stomach wound as a small pool of blood began forming beneath her, however she was staring at Chat Noir with wide, unreadable eyes. He kneeled down beside her as she spoke to him._

 _"Ch-Chat... you're alive..."_

 _He shuddered. She was so weak._

 _"Yes, I'm alive. Come on, we need to get you out of here!" he replied. Chat put his hand on Ladybug's shoulder, prepared to help her stand, but she stopped him. Ladybug weakly sat forward and touched her bloody hand to his cheek, her stare still locked on him._

 _"Chat Noir... y-you don't understand. You've b-been asleep... for ten years," she rasped._

 _A gasp escaped Chat uncontrollably. No... that couldn't be possible! He refused to believe that he had been asleep for such a long time. Ladybug winced and fell back, landing in Chat's arms as he held her. She was bleeding more, her life draining away in front of his eyes._

 _"My lady, hang in there! Don't give up on me!" his voice cracked._

 _Ladybug gazed at Chat. Her eyes were filled with many emotions: Understanding, sadness and maybe even love, as they locked with the bold green eyes of Chat Noir._

 _She choked out, "It is already t-too late Chat..."_

 _"No..."_

 _Tears stung Chat's eyes as they flooded his vision. He gritted his teeth in pain as he looked down at his dying love cradled in his arms. The life in Ladybug's eyes were starting to fade._

 _"P-Please Ladybug... don't die!" Chat Noir sobbed._

 _Hot tears were freely flowing down his cheeks now. Ladybug was gone, her wonderful life taken away by that terrible girl. Chat Noir uncontrollably sobbed, hugging Ladybug close as he sought out her warmth that was now fading from her body._

 _'I wasn't fast enough,' Chat thought, 'I couldn't save her... what kind of partner am I?!'_

 _Minutes passed as all signs of life from the beloved heroine faded away. Chat felt dead inside as his tears kept flowing, refusing to leave her side. He would just stay here until he died._

 _"Chat!"_

 _A loud shout met Chat's ears. At a time like this, he would've ignored it, but the voice was so familiar that it intrigued him. Intrigued him as to why he could hear that voice._

 _"L-Ladybug?"_

 _He sat up and looked around. No one was there._

 _"Chat Noir!"_

 _His cat-like ear twitched. The call was louder this time, still the familiar tone of Ladybug that he knew. However, the voice wasn't coming from any particular direction._

 _"My lady? Where are you? How can I hear you?"_

 _"Chat Noir! Wake up!"_

* * *

"CHAT!"

The girl with the blue pigtails rubbed her sore shoulder from where Chat Noir had tackled her. She was practically in shock. She was just about to be hit by a giant, powerful blast from Lucid.

 _But Chat saved me..._ she thought.

Ladybug watched in horror as her partner screamed out in pain and collapsed to hit knees, clutching his chest. She quickly staggered up and ran to his side as Lucid cackled from behind her. She supported Chat as she felt his energy start to falter, but no matter how much she tried to snap him out of it, the black cat never responded. Ladybug angrily turned her head to the laughing akuma.

"What did you do to him?!" she demanded.

Lucid smirked, "Well I was trying to hit you, but you'll see."

Ladybug scowled with annoyance and turned back to her partner, who had fallen into a deep sleep.

"Well, I have no time for you. Bye-bye!"

Ladybug gasped as the young girl began to fly away. She had to chase after her, but she couldn't leave Chat! She kept looking back and forth between the two of them as Lucid was getting farther away from her. She came to only one solution.

"Lucky Charm!"

Ladybug threw her spotted yo-yo into the air and a mix of red and black erupted from it. The fluttering beam swirled into the air, and came together to form a red and black spotted shield that fell down into her arms. She frowned with disappointment.

"How am I supposed to stop Lucid with this?"

She watched as the little girl vanished into the distance, and she sighed. When she returned her attention to the feline hero, he was curled up on his side, clenching his fist with a look of distress on his face. What really caught her attention was the tears streaking down his cheeks, and the light sobs that escaped his mouth. He was _crying_ in his sleep. She couldn't even think of a time where she'd seen him shed a tear and here he was, sobbing. She dropped her shield in shock and rushed over to his side, cradling him in her arms as she let his head rest on her lap.

"Chat!" She called out, trying to wake him or get some sort of reaction. There was no response from the cat for a moment, only sobs, but then he let out a faint murmur of words that Ladybug couldn't make out. However, she could've sworn she heard him say her name. She tried again.

"Chat Noir!"

His crying began to fade. His cat ears twitched as if he could hear her. Chat muttered something again, but Ladybug still couldn't make out his message. Finally, desperate to wake up her partner, she cried out one more time.

"Chat Noir! Wake up!"

With that, his cat-like eyes reappeared, flying around with urgency and confusion. When their gazes met, his eyes suddenly widened and he pushed himself away, springing up faster than she had ever seen him before. She stared up at him with concern as he armed his baton, panic clear in his features.

"Stay away from me, you monster!" he exclaimed, and in Ladybug's confusion, she noticed how dazed he seemed. As if he was still sleeping. She bolted to her feet, standing at the ready.

"Chat, it's me! It's Ladybug!" she reassured. His eyes blazed with fury as he spun his baton defensively. Chat shook his head in denial.

"You killed her!" he cried, cheeks stained from previous tears.

With no warning, he called upon his Cataclysm, and Ladybug sprung into action, diving for her shield. Chat sprinted toward her, inky black claws prepared to strike. Ladybug quickly flew up her shield, and as Chat Noir swiped at the metal it immediately rusted over before breaking into pieces.

Once losing her lucky charm, Ladybug acted on her instincts and threw her arms around her partner in a tight embrace, locking his arms at his sides. He struggled against her hold, but she kept her grip.

"Chat, please. It's me! Everything's okay!" Ladybug pleaded. She continued repeating this, until she felt the black cat hero relax against her. She softened her tone, trying to keep him calm as she firmly repeated the same words.

"It's okay."

Ladybug found herself down on her knees as Chat's breathing slowed and felt his arms wrap around her waist, returning the embrace. A small smile formed on her lips, and after a few more long moments she drew back to look at him. He seemed to have finally snapped out of his daze, however his eyes were distant and glossy.

"Chat Noir... what happened?" Ladybug asked, her voice soft and filled with concern. He didn't meet her gaze, his eyes glancing off to the side as he fell into silence. Ladybug didn't press on, just gave him time to collect his thoughts. After a few moments, he shook his head with a sigh.

"I don't want to talk about it..." he lamented, his hands falling to his sides. Ladybug furrowed her brows in sympathy, and slowly nodded, right when she heard the beep of her earrings.

"I understand..." before she could even continue, Chat interrupted her.

"Come on, let's go recharge."

Ladybug could only wonder: What had Lucid done to him?


	2. Chapter 2: Fatal Dreaming

When Chat Noir arrived at the windows of his large bedroom, he felt very disoriented and exhausted from the fight, more so than usual.

Even after the two heroes finally defeated Lucid and parted to go their separate ways, Chat had been feeling so distressed by the flashbacks in his head. Thoughts of his previous horrifying nightmare still filled his mind, along with an intense wonder and worry of what had happened to him. Was this a one-time spell that the vicious little girl had cast on him, or was this something permanent?

He stepped down from the window sill and into his room, detransforming in a flash of neon green as he did so. His cat-like kwami, Plagg, immediately appeared from his ring miraculous and zipped off, collapsing against the bed in exhaustion. Now Adrien Agreste, he approached the weak kwami and looked down at him in worry.

He could hear his small friend muttering a few words, but he decided not to delve deeper into it, assuming he was simply hungry or complaining about something. Adrien gave Plagg a light pat on the head before walking over to his window-plastered bedroom wall and looking out at the lights of Paris.

Adrien lightly groaned and stretched his arms a bit as they ached. He knew his situation made full sense. He recalled how he had jumped in Ladybug's way to protect her from Lucid's powerful magic, so he should've expected to feel extra sore.

 _Being a hero has to come with a cost of some kind,_ he thought to himself.

The longer the blonde boy stood and watched the city, the harder it was for him to keep his eyes open, despite falling asleep during the akuma fight.

His body and mind just too exhausted to try and fight it, Adrien surrendered to the feelings and fell over onto his bed, still fully clothed. His head felt light as the softness of the mattress beneath him made him smile with relaxation.

Adrien let his eyes rest, giving in to the temptation of sleep. He didn't realize at the moment, but that decision was a big mistake.

* * *

 _When Adrien reopened his eyes, he found himself on the cold ground, not sure how and why he was even there. His body ached, and he was left with barely any energy, but he knew somehow that he had to get up. There was definitely something wrong, which he began to realize as he came to his senses._

 _He wasn't in his room anymore, nor was in his civilian clothes. He noticed how his hands that rested near his head were clad in black, his ring glowing with a bright green paw print. Adrien was transformed into Chat Noir, but he had to memory of ever calling, "Claws out!" to Plagg._

 _All he could do was lay there against the cold just like in his dream before, slowly coming to his senses while all sounds around him rang in his ears._

 _Chat Noir lay in front of a desk, and having enough energy to lift his head and look around, he found himself quickly recognizing the surrounding area. He was sitting alone in his classroom at school. How? Why?_

 _He had to push his questions aside._

 _The floor beneath Chat felt as if it was practically shaking like the entire building was about to collapse. The ringing in his ears silenced just as he noticed the cracks indented into the wood floor, and realized with horror that the entire building **was** about to collapse. _

_He could hear the walls and ceiling creaking almost agonizingly as the support beams groaned and cracked in protest, folding in on itself. A chuck of heavy rubble fell near his face and he bolted up, finally taking in the danger of his situation. He had to get out of here now, making sure there were no other civilians as well._

 _'But wait, where's Ladybug?' he thought with panic, as the roof continued to drop chunks of wood and metal around him._

 _As Chat Noir raced out of the room to escape the crumbling school, he quickly found the spotted heroine around the corner, and at the sight she ran over to meet him. Her face was filled with urgency and, dare he say it, fear. It was enough to send him on edge._

 _"Chat Noir! We have to hurry and get out of here, the school's about to cave in on itself!" she exclaimed, rushing over to him and grabbing his wrist to bring him with her. He had so many questions, but he knew better than to ask._

 _Side by side, the partners dashed through the school's main foyer, their feet thumping against the floor, dodging the many pieces of rubble that continued to rain down on them._

 _Chat felt his heart sink to his stomach. It was a disaster. He dared to look back at the school's second story, and witnessed in horror the caving in of the roof and pillars as the everything collapsed and formed a large dust cloud._

 _"Hurry Chat Noir!" Ladybug's shout brought his attention back to the exit. They were so close now! They would make it out!_

 _The sound of whistling made Chat jump, and looking up he saw a gigantic chunk of metal hurtling toward them from above. "Watch out Ladybug!" he shrieked as he pulled her back, the rubble narrowly missing her._

 _The two of them looked at each other with obvious panic in their eyes. The building surely had less than a minute left before it was gone for good, and Chat didn't even have time to feel upset about it. Thinking quick, he raised his fist into the air and summoned his Cataclysm, his palm getting dyed with inky black powers._

 _Chat Noir pressed his hand firmly against the steel in their way, and a hole was caved through for him and his lady to escape. He smirked confidently._

 _"After you my l-"_

 _"WATCH OUT!"_

 _Ladybug's scream rang in his ears as in a few short moments, he felt her hands shoving him out the exit of the school. Chat noir collapsed hard onto the front stairs with exhaustion as the breath was knocked out of him, but when he looked back behind him after a moment, his partner was already gone._

 _The ladybug heroine had vanished from sight. The only thing that remained from where Chat and the spotted girl stood moments ago was another large chunk of steel, surrounded by many more pieces of rubble, and an ominous splatter of scarlet liquid._

 _"L-Ladybug," Chat whispered in almost silent terror. A shiver ran through his spine as he stood up and slowly approached the completely collapsed building._

 _Looking down into the remains, the only thing that was left of his love was her red and black spotted arm laying against the ground, motionless palm facing up, sticking out from under a pile of metal where a blood pool had formed._

 _"Not... not again," Chat Noir choked as he collapsed to his knees. He felt cool raindrops begin to splash against his forehead and drip down his face. He couldn't have cared less._

 _"She's d-dead again... and it's all my fault!"_

 _Hot tears building up in his eyes again, Chat Noir lifted his head to the cloudy night sky and let out an agonized scream._

* * *

Alarmed by a sudden wave of alertness, Adrien bolted upright from where he had flopped over onto his bed and fallen asleep. The sudden surge of unexpected energy sent him toppling backward and to the floor, and he felt his back slam against the wall. In a span of about 6 seconds, he was wide awake in a mess on the floor, sweat dripping from his forehead and his heart rate going what felt like a mile an hour.

Adrien had to take many moments to calm himself down. Unlike before, he quickly realized this time that he had been dreaming, and focused on slowing his accelerated pulse and drying himself off from the sweat and tear remnants that soaked his face.

 _What's happening...?_ he began to think once feeling better. _That's the second time that I've had a nightmare about Ladybug dying._

Determining it as his best and only solution, Adrien slowly pulled himself up from his spot on the floor and shuffled over to the end of his soft bed where his fatigued kwami lay in silence. "Plagg?" he whispered.

He wasn't sure if he should expect a response or not, but he received a very weary one. "Y-you're... such an idiot..." Plagg muttered in a hoarse voice.

Adrien's eyes widened. He had never seen his friend so physically drained before, and he felt guilt tug at his stomach. He should have helped him, or fed him, or _something!_ But his mind was too distracted when he got home to focus on the cat kwami.

"I-I'm sorry buddy, you ended up like this because of me."

He scooped Plagg up with two hands and looked down at him with tender green eyes. "Anything I can get you?" he asked. "You want some camembert?"

He weakly nodded.

Shortly after two pieces of the smelly cheese had been gobbled up by Plagg, the golden-haired boy was surprised to find him still not very energized. However, now he had the ability to talk.

Plagg spoke in an abnormally soft tone, "Kid, do you have any idea what's happened to you?"

He shook his head after hesitating for a moment. "N-no. All I know is I was struck with a hefty blast by Lucid, and, well, now I've had a couple nightmares about Ladybug gruesomely dying in front of me," Adrien explained.

He then frowned with dismay. "I'm assuming those are connected?" Plagg solemnly nodded.

The small kwami looked up at Adrien with pained green eyes and revealed to him, "You've been struck with a powerful curse Adrien. It's been given the name Fatal Dreaming, a magic spell that repeatedly causes a person to witness their worst fear every time they sleep. The result is usually either suicide or insanity, but either way it'll kill you if you don't find the cure."

Adrien usually had the ability to find a response to what people told him, but for one of the first times that he could ever remember, Adrien was left completely speechless. His breath caught in his throat and he struggled to process the thought. _The result is usually either suicide or insanity._

Every time he slept he would see his worst fear, he would see Ladybug dying.

Ladybug dying, Ladybug dying, over and over and over again. How could he stop it? He didn't want to go insane! What was the cure? What could he do?

 _What could he do?_

 _ **What could do?**_

"Hey, c'mon breathe kid! You still with me? Breathe!"

Plagg's voice was barely audible over Adrien's sporadic thoughts, however the desperation in his tone was enough to bring Adrien back to his senses. He just then realized the uncomfortable tightness in his chest and his lightheadedness.

 _Breathe! Breathe! Breathe!_

The golden haired boy finally managed to sputter a choking gasp that resulted with rough coughing. _Geez, I'm screwing myself over already..._ he thought.

Plagg sighed miserably. "What am I going to do with you?"

After catching his breath, Adrien stared at his kwami with terrified green eyes. "I-I can't do it Plagg... tell me I don't have to sit and watch Ladybug die every time I sleep. Please! Tell me what to do!"

"Why don't you start by shutting up before someone hears you?" Plagg snapped.

Once the boy obediently sat down in silence on his bed, Plagg still cupped in his hands, the kwami continued sadly spelling out to him, "There was another Chat Noir from centuries ago who I also watched go through this mess. Unfortunately, there's some kind of remedy but I don't know what it is, and after witnessing his worst fear too many times he couldn't take it any longer and he ended up killing himself."

Adrien's voice was shaky as he replied, "I-is that what's going t-to happen to me?"

"If you choose to," the cat kwami said with a sigh. "You can either choose to keep yourself from sleeping and become physically and mentally ill, or sleep and have the dreams, and you'll probably go insane."

He was lost for words. Adrien almost couldn't believe what he was hearing, but judging from how Plagg was acting he knew this was the truth. He had a fatal, incurable curse, and soon in the future his condition was going to get much worse.

He collapsed to the floor of his bedroom in a dazed and upset heap, his golden locks getting ruffled. All his could do was quietly beg to Plagg, "I don't want to watch her die over and over. Please... please tell me if there's some way to fix this! I'll do anything!"

Plagg huffed at the sight of the miraculous-wielder as he levitated over his head. "I already told you kid, there's no way to stop it. Just choose if you'd rather stay awake or sleep."

Adrien glared up at his friend, annoyed. "Is that it? Do you even care that I'm going to suffer because of this?!"

"Of course I do!" Plagg retaliated before turning away somberly. "I just... I just hate having to watch another Chat Noir go through this."

As the kwami floated away, Adrien was left alone in the silver moonlight shining through his window. He lowered his head and stifled a quiet sob.

 _What am I going to do?_


	3. Chapter 3: Cicatrice Noire

**A/N:** Thanks for all of the follows, favourites and reviews so far! I've been in a really big writing mood lately, so I managed to fit quite a bit more into this chapter than the past 2 ^^

Things continue to be pretty dark and agonizing for poor Adrien in this chapter, but there's a promise for lots of fluff in Chapter 4! I'll get to that as soon as I can :)

Hope you're enjoying so far!

* * *

The large front doors of the school looming over him, Adrien stepped out of his father's car the following day for school.

The previous night hadn't resulted in any sleep after his nightmare, but Adrien figured he would rather force himself to stay awake until he figured out how to remove this dark magic, rather than having nightmares over and over until he went insane.

 _I still feel like there's some aspects to this that Plagg hasn't told me about,_ he thought, as the car drove away behind him, the cool breeze shifting his hair.

Adrien took a moment before his legs decided to move. Ever since his realization the previous night, he couldn't stop thinking about the gruesome nightmares and the horrible future that awaited him. It filled his thoughts constantly now, and he struggled to believe that he had only made this discovery less than 24 hours ago.

Seeing his best friend Nino waving at him a few meters away, he decided it would be a good distraction from the negative thoughts and made his way over.

"Hey dude! How was your weekend?" Nino greeted him, lively as always.

Adrien responded, "Pretty decent, nothing too eventful."

A complete lie.

"What about you?"

Nino and Adrien continued their straightforward conversation as they wandered up the school steps toward the front entrance. With the stone thumping beneath their feet, Adrien broke eye contact with his close friend to look up at the two large doors before him.

 _"WATCH OUT!"_

Ladybug's scream rang in his ears again, and he stopped in his tracks. The world around Adrien slowly silenced into a painful ringing, as the vision in front of him warped back into the crumbling school from his nightmare. He felt his leaf-green eyes grew wide with terror.

Adrien once again stood and witnessed as the building before him collapsed into a heap of dust and rubble, the crashing and banging almost silent to him, as his Lady's dead, spotted arm was laid out for him to see.

 _"She's dead again because of you!"_

 _"How could you let this happen to her?"_

 _"You should have protected her!"_

So many voices began screaming in his head, and he pressed his palms against his head and squinted his eyes in agony. _This can't be happening again! Why did I have to watch this twice? Why am I being forced to suffer?_ he thought with horror. _WHY?_

"Hey! Dude!"

A familiar voice breaking through to him, Adrien's green eyes flew open to see the school again, but everything was as it should be. No cracks, nothing crumbling, no Ladybug. He turned his head to see Nino standing beside him as he was before, his amber eyes full of concern.

He asked him, "Adrien, is everything alright man? You suddenly stopped and just started... panicking. Like you had seen a ghost or something."

The golden-haired boy blinked with realization. _It wasn't real?_

"Should we call your dad or something? Maybe you're sick," Nino offered kindly.

Adrien placed a reassuring hand onto his friend's shoulder and smiled. "I think I'm just a little tired, but don't worry about it," he said quickly. "Come on, we should make sure we aren't late for class."

Taking the lead, he and Nino entered the school and saw most of the students still gathered in the main foyer. _The bell must not hang rung yet._ He winced slightly and put a hand against the middle of his chest. _Something in my chest hurts..._

Another friendly voice spoke up as Nino and Adrien walked into the school. "Hey boys!"

Two close friends of his, Alya and Marinette, approached the guys with a smile. Alya almost immediately strolled up to her boyfriend and gave him a greeting peck on the cheek, whereas Adrien gave Marinette a friendly smile and wave, to which she returned.

Marinette had always been an interesting girl to Adrien. Aside from their initial introduction which started off quite sour, the pig-tailed girl had always been kind, supportive and hard-working, however seemed to also have a certain awkward clumsiness at times, quite often around him. She always seemed embarrassed by it, but he found it rather amusing.

"H-hi Adrien! Did you have a n-nice weekend?" Marinette asked brightly.

He nodded and replied, "I did, thanks! How was yours?" He hated having to lie so much.

"Oh! W-well it was nothing super exciting. I just st-started some sketches f-for a new mess- I mean d-dress that I'm making! A-and then I also helped my parents out with some shaking- I-I mean baking!" she stammered.

Adrien giggled. "Sounds like you had an eventful weekend!" She was such a talented girl.

 _"P-Please Ladybug... don't die!"_

He suddenly had a flashback from his first dream. The image of Ladybug bleeding out in his arms filled his mind all over again.

"Aaugh!" Adrien grimaced and clutched onto his chest as a more intense pain struck him.

Marinette's blue eyes flew wide with sudden dread, while Alya and Nino turned to look at him with expressions of concern. Other students nearby turned his way as well, and under his pain he felt a flash of embarrassment.

"A-Adrien! Are you alright?" Marinette questioned, stepping forward and offering her arms to support him.

Unable to muster words, all he could do was wave her off as he staggered to his feet and ran to the locker room for a bit more privacy. He could feel their eyes burning into his back as he abandoned them.

 _Dammit Adrien!_ he cursed to himself in his head. _What are you doing? Let them help you!_

Once alone, the tall boy sighed with exhaustion and lowered himself to the floor, his back pressed against his locker. He felt his kwami shuffle around on the inside of his over-shirt for a few moments before appearing in front of his face.

He asked quietly, "Hey, you alright kid?"

Adrien narrowed his eyes and bitterly responded, "Of course I'm not alright! I have a mysterious pain in my chest now, and I just ran away from my friends for no reason. Plus, I have a strong feeling there's more to this stupid magic that you didn't tell me!"

The look of guilt that appeared on Plagg's face proved his hypothesis correct. "What aren't you telling me Plagg? Stop keeping secrets and just spill the beans so we can work on finding a solution."

The cat kwami huffed with irritation. "It's harder to work with you when you're short-tempered, you know."

"Sorry..."

Plagg crossed his small arms and came down to sit in Adrien's cupped hands. He then explained, "Yes, it's true I didn't tell you everything, but I took a lot of the damage for you from Lucid's blast. That's why I was so tired last night. Had I not done anything, you would've been asleep for a lot longer than you initially were, and the effects of the curse would have been amplified pretty bad."

Adrien looked down at his friend with sympathy in his eyes. "I'm sorry... I should have helped you out better last night," he murmured, before asking, "Will the magic have any lasting effects on you?"

Plagg shook his head. "No, but it means that your nightmares will be a lot worse when you fall asleep as Chat Noir."

The blonde boy nodded and replied, "Okay, I'll be careful. So what's causing that pain in my chest? And how can we work toward getting this fixed?"

"Well, we can start by-" The kwami was cut off by the loud ringing of a bell, and Adrien's eyes widened with alarm.

He jumped up and began grabbing his binders from his locker and stuffing them into his bag. "Class is starting any minute! I have to go, we'll talk about this later!" he said abruptly to Plagg.

The dark kwami wanted to retort, but instead shrugged, figuring it was better not to argue with him, and flew into Adrien's over-shirt once again to hide.

After leaving the locker room, the tall boy sprinted up the stairs to the building's second floor, and toward his first class with Ms. Bustier. He sensed more images of his last nightmare entering his head, but he did his best to grit his teeth and push them aside. He ran through the classroom door, relief flooding through his veins for making it to class on time.

Something about Adrien's lifestyle made him feel absolutely horrible for being late to something important. It was almost like a crime.

"Hey man... everything okay? You dashed off pretty fast back there," Nino expressed his concern as Adrien took his seat to the right of him.

Adrien felt his inner turmoil stabbing him again. He wanted to tell him. He wanted so badly to tell everyone in his life and beg them to help him. He wanted a reason for his father to be concerned about him, he wanted Ladybug to find a way to heal him, he wanted to plead for everyone he knew to make him better.

 _But all I have is Plagg..._

He figured someone was better than no one. Hopefully he'd soon build up the courage to tell Ladybug, but for now he couldn't hinder anyone else with his own personal issue. Adrien figured he would only make his friends and family constantly worry about him, and try to help him out when for all he knew there could be no solution to this.

He had no choice but to maintain his slew of lies.

He said to Nino, "Yeah, something just came up but I'll be fine. Please just don't worry about me."

"You sure about that Adrien? You seemed kinda distressed back there, and Mari got all upset thinking she had scared you off or something."

"Alya! You don't just blurt things like that!"

Alya, commonly known for butting in on the conversations of the two boys, was leaning forward from her desk behind them with a flushed-faced Marinette to her right.

Nino chuckled and said to her, "Come on babe, we've talked about the eavesdropping." Alya pouted her lip teasingly with a 'just-because-I-shouldn't-doesn't-mean-I-won't' expression, and then Nino brought his attention back to Adrien. "If you don't want us worrying about you, then we won't, but be careful with whatever happened man."

Adrien smiled at his caring friend. What did he do to deserve someone like him?

"Thanks Nino, I'll stay safe."

Once he got everything sorted out, Ms. Bustier came into the classroom in her usual cheerful demeanor. The class began with their usual of giving a compliment to the person to their right, before they returned to talking about the history unit they had started the previous week.

Not half an hour into class and Adrien could already feel himself drifting off. As lovely as Ms. Bustier was to have as a teacher, the days where they sat and listened to her lectures were often more boring and easier to fall into a slumber during. Normally, Adrien would have no problem remaining at attention at almost all times to do his very best in school, but on this day the lack of sleep didn't aid him in any way.

Throughout the duration of time, Adrien felt tight pinches from Plagg against the base of his neck whenever his eyes began to roll into the world of sleep, and while struggling to remain awake he could've sworn he saw Nino casting him some glances from the side, probably noticing even more that he wasn't his normal self.

The 45 minute mark passed. The tall male had already lost memory of much of what they had just been lectured, and his eyes grew heavier with every moment. His eyelids started slowly closing again and his head drooped.

He needed to sleep.

He... needed... to sleep...

 _N-need... sleep... t-tired..._

"Hey! Adrien!"

Adrien's head had almost reached the desk by the time Nino had cut in and his dull eyes flew open again. Luckily, no one else in the class had noticed how fatigued he was except for his close friend.

He had the assumption that Nino was highly suspicious, but all he said to the blonde was, "The lecture's over. Ms. Bustier asked us to get out our pencils and notes for a worksheet."

"O-Oh! Right, thanks."

Adrien felt a wave of relief that Nino decided not to question his behavior, and he bent down beside the desk he sat at to retrieve his resources.

However, as he leaned over, the small black head of Plagg poked out from his white over-shirt. Adrien darted his eyes to him with alarm, and quickly whispered for him to get back into hiding. He didn't move an inch.

As his hand latched onto the binder in his bag, the kwami sighed and apologized before telling him in a low voice, "Remember your nightmares."

 _Remember my nightmares?_

Adrien narrowed his eyes disapprovingly at his cat-like kwami as he brought his things up onto the desk. Why did he want him to _remember_ what he'd much rather forget? How would telling him that do him any good?

The class carried on. Filling out a worksheet was helping to keep Adrien awake, but Plagg's voice was echoing in his ears.

 _"Remember your nightmares."_

Almost completely out of his control, Adrien felt his eyes forcefully tear away from the paper on the wood in front of him, up to the front desk where friendly Ms. Bustier sat. His heart began to pound heavier, remembering where Chat Noir first awoke in a daze before the school crumbled to the ground.

His ears had been ringing, his senses had been foggy, and once he mustered the strength to sit up, Chat Noir had found himself on the floor of this room, right in front of that desk. He had been terrified.

 _"Remember your nightmares."_

It was just a nightmare... it hadn't been real. He tried to tell himself that, but then he remembered the school crashing to the earth around him, the fear in his Lady's eyes, the way two people were in the school but only one left...

 _"Remember your nightmares."_

His chest began to hurt again... he had his horrible dream replaying in his head, over and over, again and again.

He clenched his hands into fists. How long would he be able to take this?

 _"Remember your nightmares."_

The classroom around Adrien became nothing. His senses died out again, replaced only by memories: Rumbling and crashing, death and a puddle of blood, cold rain and his hot tears. Eventually, he was flooded with images from the first nightmare too.

Paris in ruin, dead bodies littering the ground, Ladybug bleeding out in his arms.

 _"Remember your nightmares."_

All sound was gone, just ringing and heartpounding.

All sight was gone, just blood and death.

All feeling was gone, just a body in his arms.

Adrien's chest blazed with misery, but he didn't have the strength to pull himself out of what now felt like a pitch black abyss. He kept falling deeper into memories that felt so old, but were still so new. It was all so dark... and no way out.

They weren't even real... just nightmares...

 _"Remember your nightmares."_

 _No... forget your nightmares._

 _They're just nightmares._

 ** _They're just nightmares!_**

"ADRIEN!"

Someone shouting his name extremely loud with a hard shake of his shoulders managed to pull Adrien back to the classroom. He took a sharp intake of breath, suddenly wondering if his aching chest pain was because he stopped breathing for an unknown duration of time.

 _No, it still hurts._

Nino put his strong hand against Adrien's arm to support him, and once catching his breath and taking some time to let his senses readjust, the blonde-haired boy weakly lifted his head to see almost the entire class standing in front of his desk and staring at him in horror, Ms. Bustier in front of them all and about two feet away from his face.

"Adrien, what happened? Are you okay? You had us all worried sick!" Ms. Bustier almost instantly asked. There was very clear concern in her bright teal eyes, and he felt a tug of frustration that already in just a day of no sleep people were already putting him on their watch.

His voice cracked as he replied to her, "Yeah, fine. I'm sorry for scaring you all. I just had a bad sleep last night and was starting to fall asleep."

Ms. Bustier and some others still eyed him with suspicion or concern, despite him technically not lying. So Adrien forced himself to put on a fake smile and tell his teacher, "I'll be fine, really. Do you mind if I just take take a walk for a few minutes?"

The ginger woman nodded to him. "Yes, you may. Please be sure to get enough sleep at night." She looked up to the rest of his classmates. "That goes for all of you. Now please return to your seats."

Adrien quickly tidied his disheveled blonde hair and took a deep sigh, before slowly getting to his feet and shifting out from behind his wood desk. As he approached the doorway that lead out of the class so he could have a word with his kwami, he picked up the same feeling he had when he was running away from his friends earlier that day.

 _Someone's eyes are on me._

Adrien turned his head slightly to look behind him, and his green eyes met with those of bluebell-eyed Marinette. She stood motionless and watched him as he left the room, an expression of apprehension laced on her face. It was a look he had never seen from her before, as she seemed worried about him but also looked as if she was scanning him, whether it be to figure out what the problem was or searching for more symptoms.

Feeling strangely unsettled by her gaze, Adrien turned his head back forward and exited the classroom.

Once he was a good distance away and he was out of anyone's hearing-range, Adrien slumped down on a bench with exhaustion and gave Plagg an irritated glare when he flew out of his over-shirt.

"Why did you say that to me?!" he demanded. "Plagg, why would you force me to go through that? You told me to remember the stupid dreams that I keep trying to forget, and now thanks to you the entire class is suspicious of me!"

The cat-like kwami swished his tail and barely reacted to his holder's outrage. He stated simply, "I was tryin' to help ya kid. You kept drifting, and in my mind if you fall asleep you'll get another nightmare and start panicking in front of all your classmates, which would make them even more suspicious. I just... figured this was the best way to keep you awake."

Shame immediately tugged at Adrien for lashing out so harshly at the small cat. He only did what he thought was best, and in the end the outcome was better than if he had fallen asleep.

"Sorry Plagg..."

"Stop apologizing so much kid. Let's just deal with your scar for now."

"My... what?"

The kwami floated closer to him and pointed his small arm at Adrien's chest. He told him, "Your scar, from the attack. I was going to tell you about it before, but then the bell rang. Have a look, it's what's causing that chest pain of yours."

He had a scar on his chest?!

Confusion and fear rising up in him, Adrien grabbed the neck of his striped T-shirt and tugged it down to reveal the skin of his chest. What he saw made his breath shudder with shock, as it was no normal scar.

Sitting in plain sight on the middle of Adrien's chest was a mark about the size of his index finger, in the shape of a small crack. What made it so different, however, was how it was completely pitch black, and glowed a faint purple light. It practically looked like a hole in his chest, and was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

"P-Plagg," he choked on his breath. "I'm not gonna lie, this is starting to really frighten me. This whole situation is just awful, tell me if there's something we can do!"

He seemed to often resort now to begging when he got scared. Every time he talked with his kwami, all it seemed to result in was Adrien begging for help. He wanted something, _anything_ to make this stop!

The kwami looked around the corner toward the classroom as something alerted him, and then he quickly whispered to Adrien, "Someone's coming. I have an idea, but we'll talk about it later."

After his friend returned to his usual hiding place, Adrien awaited whoever was coming to speak to him. His best guess was his friend Chloe coming to fawn over him, or maybe a runner for Ms. Bustier telling him to come back to the classroom. However, he was once again met with the familiar dark blue pigtails.

"H-hey Adrien," Marinette greeted as she stood before him.

He gave her a friendly smile, "Hey Marinette. What's up? Does Ms. Bustier want me back?"

"Oh, n-no it's nothing like that. It's just me," she stuttered. "I just... thought that what happened back there was a little abnormal, so I wanted to make sure you were-"

"I'm fine Marinette," Adrien interrupted her with a firm tone. She seemed quite taken aback by this, but he held her gaze with narrowed eyes. He didn't want to burden any of his close friends with this problem, especially someone as sweet as her.

After a few more moments, she rubbed the back of her neck and said to him, "O-okay then... but if you'd like, I-I was wondering if sometime you'd like to come and spend some time at m-my place? You know, l-like we did for that gaming competition a while back. Just the two of us."

This instantly lightened Adrien's mood. This very day happened to be a rare one, as he had no scheduled events for after the school day. He was planning on distracting himself by watching anime or going out and patrolling the city as Chat Noir, but spending time with Marinette seemed like a much more viable option!

He stood up from the bench and smiled at her. "That would be awesome! If you're okay with it, I can come over right after school. I think it'd be fun!"

"O-Oh! Really? I mean, y-yeah that'd be great!"

Adrien and the stuttering girl continued their lively back and forth conversation as they walked back to the classroom together.

He still had so many questions and concerns, and he needed a lot of time to work things out with his kwami. However, for the time being before he got too unhealthy from lack of sleep, Adrien wanted to enjoy himself and not dwell on the terrible memories this Fatal Dreaming curse had brought him.

And spending his day with a friend like Marinette was one of the best distractions he could think of!

* * *

I know things seem a bit hectic right now, but Adrien's determined to find a solution soon!

... not before a bit of fluff though ;)


	4. Chapter 4: Sweet Dreams

**A/N:** Thank you so so much for all of the feedback so far! I've read every single review and I'm instantly put in a good mood whenever I read them! I'm glad you guys are enjoying so far! ^^

Without further adieu, enjoy the adrinette fluff!

* * *

Before he even knew it, time had flown by and Adrien was packing up his bag for the end of the school day.

Surprisingly to him, when he messaged his father asking if he could spend the evening at Marinette's house, he said yes. Adrien had a feeling that his father, Gabriel Agreste, didn't mind Marinette all that much, since she wanted to be a fashion designer when she grew up and drew inspiration from him. Of course, this time it worked out in Adrien's favour, since his strict parent often didn't let him spend time in his friend's households.

Once gathering up his resources, Adrien approached Marinette at her locker and asked with a smile, "Hey! Ready to go?"

"Y-yeah, totally! I'm r-ready."

The kind girl's stuttering is something Adrien had grown accustomed to over time. She always seemed flustered when she acted clumsy around him, but the blonde boy didn't mind.

In fact, he often found it rather cute.

Nino and Alya left their two close friends to their own accords as Marinette and Adrien exited the school side by side. He found himself feeling very relaxed whenever he spent time with the pig-tailed girl, and this time was no exception. Adrien felt very lucky that he had an empty schedule on this day.

"So, summer's getting pretty close. Got any big plans?" he spoke up, making some pleasant conversation to break the silence they had been walking in.

Marinette tapped a finger lightly to her chin in thought. She replied after a few moments, "One of my c-cousins is having a wedding that my family's been invited to, and my parents had also t-talked of making some new recipes. I want to start designing a dress tonight too, and after that I'll probably continue to make new clothing designs over the summer."

Adrien smiled while he listened to his close friend continue to talk. She seemed to have an easier time chatting and growing more relaxed if he let her just ramble on. It's was almost like she forgot that he was standing there beside her. Before the duo even knew it, they had arrived at the front door of the Dupain-Cheng Family Bakery. Getting lost in your thoughts definitely does that to you, and Adrien chuckled when Marinette was shocked at them arriving so soon.

As they entered the small little shop, a genuine beam spread across Adrien's face as the warmth and comfort of the bakery made him almost immediately feel more at home. His green eyes shone with delight as the aura of fresh pastries and sweet sugary goodness smothered his senses. It was a sort of bliss he felt on very rare occasions, but Marinette's house happened to be one of those places.

It had a very sweet vibe, in more than just the smell.

Her father Tom gave them a quick greeting, "Hey there honey. Oh, and you've brought Mr. Agreste home with you as well! Hello sir!"

"Good afternoon Mr. Dupain."

"Hello papa!"

The young girl went up to her two parents and gave them both a peck on the cheek, while Sabine rubbed the back of her neck and told the two of them, "Unfortunately, Tom and I just finished all of our orders for the day and now we have to go out and deliver them to the customers. We were going to ask Marinette to cover bakery duty for a few hours until we get back, but we didn't know you'd be coming over Adrien. I'm very sorry."

Adrien gave a wide smile. "Don't be sorry, I'd love to help out Marinette!"

He couldn't help but notice the bright blush that appeared on his friend's face when he spoke, though she seemed to be trying to hide it.

"Y-you don't have to A-Adrien," she stuttered.

He waved his hand to her and replied, "Nah, I haven't baked in years. I'd love to help out!"

Tom nodded and began helping Sabine pack up their deliveries, ranging from cinnamon buns, to pies, to colourful cupcakes. "Thank you very much young man, I appreciate your understanding. We'll hopefully be back in three or four hours," he explained to them.

Sabine smiled as she opened the door for her husband. "Have fun you two!"

"Thanks," Marinette and Adrien spoke in unison.

With a final ding of the familiar little bell that hung over the front door, the couple was gone, leaving just the two teens alone in the bakery.

After an extended moment of standing in silence, Adrien looked to Marinette eagerly and questioned, "So, what are we gonna do first?"

"H-Here, follow me!"

Marinette led the way into the large kitchen, which was even more of a paradise for the golden-haired teen. The delicious smells grew more enhanced as they stepped into the baking grounds, with fresh goods laid on trays that scattered the counters next to many bags of flour, sugar, baking soda, and a heap of other ingredients.

She began opening up the multiple cabinets throughout the room and searched through them one by one, until she smiled at a large book with a thick green and yellow spine and she pulled it out. As Marinette set it down on the counter in front of the two of them, it made a 'thump' and blew up small white clouds of flour remnants.

The book cover showed an assortment of fresh cookies and had the title, **'Sweet and Simple Cookie Recipes!'**

"This is one of my favourite cookbooks to search through when I'm just baking for fun," Marinette exclaimed. "C-Cookies are my favourite!"

Adrien nodded happily in agreement, getting flashbacks in his head from when he was a younger boy. "Yeah, I used to bake cookies a lot with my mom. She would always let us bake oatmeal chocolate-chip, since they're my favourite." He had to keep himself under control to not get too emotional over thinking of his mother. Not right now. "Do you have a favourite kind in particular?"

Her eyes lit up as he asked her the question and she turned to the cookbook, beginning to search through it.

He couldn't help but notice that whenever Marinette got engaged in an activity she was very passionate about, she grew much more relaxed and seemed to stutter less. The same thing happened when the two of them practiced together for a gaming competition a while ago.

She flipped through the large book swiftly, taking a few moments to scan each page as they went by, until she stopped and pointed to a recipe for sugar cookies. The picture showed many varieties of the one flavour: Some being plain and just sprinkled with grains of sugar, while others being decorated with colourful sprinkles or smothered with frosting.

Needless to say, they looked delectable.

"I've been baking sugar cookies since I was really little," she went on to explain. "I've always loved how they can be very simple, but if you want you can make them more unique, or make each individual cookie it's own. You can choose to make them decorated with small blue sprinkles, or decorated like a flower with icing. It's all based on what you want it to be, and it's something I really enjoy."

 _Wow._

Adrien was astonished. Marinette was so passionate about baking, in a way he never could have imagined. Just one recipe for some cookies held so much meaning for her. He smiled as he made his decision.

He asked his friend eagerly, "Can you teach me how to bake them?"

She looked back at him with surprise, stuttering back, "Oh, I-I mean we don't h-have to. I mean, w-we can bake whatever you'd like to, i-if you want."

Adrien laughed lightly. "I'd like to bake these. They look delicious!"

Marinette gave in after that, giggling as she turned to the book for instructions.

"O-Okay then! Step one: Preheat oven to 375 degrees."

He acknowledged the instructions by turning the dial on the stove.

What then ensued was three lively hours of the two friends having a cookie-baking riot. The sugary treats surprisingly came out very well most of the time, but some other batches had disaster ensue beforehand. It was certainly quite the adventure.

And Adrien adored every second of it.

Once when they were mixing a bowl of dry ingredients, Adrien grew a mischievous smirk across his face before he dipped his thumb into the bowl and smeared a line of flour, baking soda and sugar across Marinette's cheek.

"H-hey!" she had giggled.

"Oops!" Adrien expressed innocently. "My hand slipped."

Marinette grinned with a snicker as she grabbed a small handful of flour from the tan bag and threw it at his head, dusting the right half of his face and some parts of his blonde hair completely white. "That's what you get!" she retaliated.

They couldn't take anything seriously after that.

Once when Adrien had been trying to decorate a sugar cookie, Marinette scooped up a finger-full of the blue frosting and smudged a smiley face onto his arm. Another moment when the girl was taking out a finished tray, the blonde teen stole a spoonful of cookie batter and stuck it in his mouth. She had tried to act annoyed, but he could tell she really didn't mind.

It resulted in more flour-throwing.

When the duo finally got around to tasting some of the completed sugar cookies, Adrien was impressed at just how good they were!

"This is such a tasty recipe Marinette!" he had praised, before winking at her and adding, "Man, I guess I see now why you're such a _sweet_ person!"

She had laughed for a few moments before a look of realization dawned on her face.

"Wait, did you just make a pun? Who are you, Chat Noir?"

"Uh, d-does he make puns? I'm surprised, I didn't know you knew him that well."

"O-Oh, well yeah w-we've met a few times before. O-On occasion."

Adrien smiled. It was true that when he was Chat Noir he had rescued Marinette during multiple missions before. She acted a bit different around the cat-like hero than she did with others, although he supposed that she might have a different way of interacting with everyone that she knew.

He still couldn't risk her figuring out his identity though, so he had to hide his knowledge.

Occasionally while they were baking cookies, Marinette had to slip out into the shop's entrance to provide for any customers who came by, but lucky for them it was kept fairly tame.

Finally, when Adrien took notice of the bright amber sun setting toward the horizon, he turned to Marinette and said, "Looks like we've been going at this for a few hours now. Think we should stop?"

The whole kitchen had become calamity with some sort of ingredient or pastry substance on nearly every surface. The pale blue and silver tiles had been caked with grains of sugar, bowls flecked with leftover cookie dough, trays of completed sugar cookies, different coloured frosting smeared on multiple spots, and even more that peppered the room. It basically looked like a tornado had made it's way in and destroyed the entire room, leaving behind mayhem.

However, what came out of the horrid mess was about ten dozen sugar cookies, the ones decorated being many different colours and styles. Marinette seemed very pleased, and during the process it hadn't taken her long to become completely laid-back. The two of them easily enjoyed each other's company, additionally getting themselves quite contaminated in the process.

"Yeah, we should probably start cleaning up before my parents see what a disaster this place is!" she added with a giggle. "If you don't mind gathering up the dirty bowls and cutlery, I'll grab a mop and start scrubbing the floor."

Adrien nodded and did as he was told, however just as he started retrieving the soiled dishes he heard a sharp yelp from his friend. He swung his head over just in time to watch Marinette slip on a puddle of milk spilled on the floor, and collapse back-first onto the floor with a hard 'thud.'

He felt a spike of worry jolt through him at the sight. He quickly scrambled over to help her, kneeling down at her side as a groan escaped her lips and her head lolled to the side. She weakly lifted an arm to rub the back of her head, indicating that it was aching. His eyebrows furrowed with worry.

"Are you okay? Anything broken?" he questioned somewhat frantically.

Adrien pressed his hand against Marinette's upper back to help sit her up, and she winced as he did so, keeping her hand against her head.

She replied, "M-My head feels really sore. I must have bashed it hard on the floor when I fell."

That didn't sound good. "Can you walk?"

"Probably... not?" she muttered. "Everything is s-spinning..."

Adrien sighed with concern. She definitely damaged her skull in some way shape or form, meaning she needed to rest.

"Here, hang on," he told her.

Carefully, Adrien wrapped one arm around her back and another below her knees, and lifted her up from the floor in bridal style. Despite navigating slowly to try not to agitate her injury, Marinette still winced lightly. However, at the same time, the deep red blush across her cheeks also caught his attention.

He gently carried his friend upstairs to her room, both of them remaining silent along the way. Adrien expected to feel a twinge of awkwardness at treating Marinette this way, but surprisingly he felt fine. In the meantime, he hoped he wasn't making her uncomfortable, but she seemed focused on holding the back of her head, ruffling her dark blue hair.

Once in her bedroom, Adrien carefully sat her down on the pink chaise in the corner of her room and smiled at her.

"You- uh, you need anything?" he asked.

Marinette smiled and gently shook her head. "No, I'll be okay. Th-thanks for helping me Adrien."

"You're welcome," he replied with a soft smile. "You just rest here while I go clean up."

She tried to insist to him that he shouldn't have to clean up the whole room alone, but Adrien told her that he'd be okay.

While he cleared up the kitchen, Marinette's parents returned to the bakery and he had to explain to them what happened to their daughter. They thanked him, and took over tidying duty while Adrien arranged and put away the sugar cookies that they made.

A small irritation returned to his chest as he thought about Marinette sprawled on the floor and the similarities she had to the Ladybug from his nightmare, when she bled out in his arms.

Adrien sighed sadly.

 _Looks like Marinette's not the only one hurting today._

* * *

 **A/N:** I'll be away for about 5 days without a computer so expect the next chapter to take a little longer, but hey I'll do my best :P

Please never hesitate to let me know any critiques you may have or improvements you think could be made! I always work hard to get better!


	5. Chapter 5: Twists and Turns

**A/N:** I've returned from a short trip to my cottage and now I have the ability to write again. Yay! ^^ I'd say about 80% of this chapter was written the day this is published and I'm proud for getting so much done today!

Thanks so much for all of the reviews, favourites and follows so far! They make me very happy :D Please continue to let me know what you think of the story, and give me any advice or criticism you'd like to provide. It would be much appreciated!

Also, first chapter from Marinette's perspective! Woot! More of these to come in the future, so I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Marinette watched as she heard the final click of the trapdoor that led downstairs being closed. Adrien had kindly offered to go and clear away the rest of the disarray that the two of them left cluttered around the kitchen when she smashed her head on the floor, which left her grateful but now alone.

Trying to get a feel of the extent of the damage, Marinette ran her hand softly through her darkened blue hair along the back of her head. She grimaced as her fingers came in contact with the swollen bump from the fall. She deduced that the tile floor must have done some pretty awful damage.

A few moments later, her small red and black kwami companion emerged from behind her computer monitor, likely where she had taken refuge as she heard Marinette and Adrien approaching earlier.

Tikki flew over to her master with deep concern swarming her eyes. "What happened Marinette?" she asked. The ladybug kwami cringed as she examined the girl and located the lump on her head.

"F-Fell on the floor... hard," Marinette groaned between gritted teeth. Despite her hand causing a twinge of pain as it sat against her injury, she couldn't find the compulsion to take it away. As if having her hand pressed against the wound would make it better somehow.

Tikki nodded with worry. "I can see that. Do you need anything? Is Adrien helping you out? Does it feel better than before?" she pestered.

Marinette lightly chuckled at her friend's abundance of questions. Tikki often got this way when something was wrong and she was concerned for her well-being.

"No, I'm not sure, and not really," she answered in order.

"Are you sure?" the kwami pressed.

The pigtailed girl gave a nod, and then a sigh shortly after. She felt extremely embarrassed about how much of a klutz she was, and that Adrien of all her friends had to be watching her as she slipped on a stupid puddle of milk and injured herself like this. Then she had to sit there as he pampered her and probably made him feel super uncomfortable with the way that he had to carry her.

Had Marinette not been fighting to remain conscious, she would have said something to the blonde haired boy at the time.

She had been so overcome with joy after spending the past many hours with him. Once falling into a simple baking routine, she lost all tension and nervous feelings despite being around her crush so much, and had no trouble just enjoying herself and having fun! Marinette had gone along with the silly tricks that he began to pull, and found herself beaming while she threw flour at him or made little frosting patterns on his arm. It just came so naturally.

It was right then as she was having those thoughts that it occurred to Marinette how filthy she still was, smothered in different baking ingredients.

 _I should probably wash up before Adrien gets back,_ she thought to herself.

She swung her legs across her bright pink chaise to aim toward standing up, however as she did so her head jerked and sent a fiery sting through her skull. She yelped in sudden pain and gripped her hand against her disheveled hair again.

"Marinette!" Tikki fretted as she flew closer to examine the wound. "You have to be more careful. With a bump like this you shouldn't be moving, especially since you might have a concussion."

"S-Sorry.." she muttered.

As the kwami worried over her, Marinette heard the familiar sweet voice of Adrien from beneath her trapdoor, calling something to her parents as he undoubtedly was on his way up. She gasped with alarm at the thought of him walking in and seeing Tikki, so without further thought she gently scooped up the kwami and placed her under the pillow on her chaise. She felt another rush of discomfort run to her head, but she managed to ignore it.

She had experienced worse during her time as Ladybug.

Luckily, just as Tikki was safely hidden is when Adrien lifted the trapdoor on the floor of her bedroom and he smiled gently in her direction. Like her, he was still quite dusted with different ingredients from their baking frenzy.

He explained, "Hi Marinette! Your parents are back, and they helped me clean up the kitchen downstairs. Probably a good thing, since they know this place a lot better than I do. This is their house, after all."

The tall boy gave out a genuine chuckle as he stepped toward her chaise and sat down next to her. His laughter caused Marinette to let out a giggle as well, since simply being with Adrien made her happy enough.

"How's your head?" he asked, gesturing toward his own scalp.

She shrugged lightly, her eyes lingering. "C-Could definitely be better. Still hurts, but it's a little e-easier to move."

"Sorry, I should've brought you an ice pack or something. Want me to go grab one?"

"N-No, that's okay. I think I'll be fine!"

Adrien acknowledged this with a nod. The pair sat together in a rather awkward silence for a number of minutes. Neither knew what to say or do. Finally, he got to his feet and smiled down at her while offering a hand of support.

"What do you say we play some Ultimate Mecha Strike 3 so you can cream me as usual and get your mind off of that injury?"

Marinette's heart swelled with a sudden burst of delight, and she gave him and eager but determined smirk. "Looks like you've gotten used to losing," she teased as she took his hand.

She had to hold back a squeal and force herself not to blush too hard, hoping that he wouldn't notice.

"When I play with you, definitely," he laughed in response.

"Prepare to taste defeat once again!"

Adrien flashed one of his famous smiles and he gripped the smaller girl's hand and additionally supported her body delicately while he helped her stand up. Marinette winced with agitation, but luckily her head didn't protest as badly this time. She failed to hold back her intense blush as the taller boy held one callous hand against her shoulder to right her, and the other against her waist.

 _Way to go Marinette,_ she mocked herself. _Just slowly standing up from your chaise causes your crush to hold you like a child._

Slowly but surely, with Adrien's help, Marinette made her way to one of the rolling chairs in her room so she could sit in front of her computer and boot up her favourite video game, controller at the ready.

Adrien looked her way and suggested, "Maybe I'll have a chance of success this time!"

"What? You really think you can defeat me?" Marinette taunted with a cock of her eyebrow.

"Hey miracles happen. Besides, I've still kept that lucky charm of yours handy, so it'll help me beat you!"

"Dream on, button-mashing runner up!"

They both giggled at her quip. Marinette's head pain seemed miles away now.

* * *

"Aaaaaand another smashing success for team Marinette!"

The pigtailed girl cheered for herself joyfully as she beat the taller boy in a gaming match for about the fifteenth time that evening.

She had noticed his desperation growing the longer they went on, and Adrien was certainly a very talented player but no matter what he tried he just couldn't trump Marinette's tricks. He'd even tried to cheat a couple times in his favour, but it never worked out.

During the time that they had clashed fiercely on her computer monitor, Marinette had watched out her bedroom window as the bright glowing sun had gradually set, and now the sky was tinted a dark teal with pink and gold clouds dotting the space.

Her parents had entered the room not long after they started playing, concerned for their daughter's injury. They checked over the bump but managed to confirm that Marinette did not have a concussion. She had had one in the past, and Tom explained that her wound had been much larger and she had not been sitting at her computer happily playing video games right after it happened.

Therefore, bumping her head on the floor had resulted in nothing more than minor head damage that would hurt for a few days.

Once her mother and father had departed, Marinette's pain had only continued to dissipate as she became fully engaged in the battle against her friend. Adrien losing over and over had made him grow frustrated and frantic, whereas she was quite amused by his fictitious resentment toward her, and she regained that calm serenity that she latched onto while the two of them were baking.

For a while, it didn't matter that she was spending a very extended amount of time alone with her crush. It didn't matter that they were both filthy with flour and icing. It didn't matter that her head was sore from an injury.

She was just... delighted.

At long last, when Marinette was close to loss in the sixteenth round but still managed to pull through, Adrien loudly groaned with a smirk and put his controller down.

"Fine, I yield!" he declared. "I can't defeat you Marinette, I admit it. You happy now?"

"Hmm, I dunno. It would've been fun to kick your ass a seventeenth time," she teased.

Adrien laughed, she guessed partially because of her unexpected choice of words. "I'm sure you could've done it easily. You're super amazing Marinette!"

She felt the heat rise in her cheeks again, but she tried to ignore it with an amiable smile.

Marinette and Adrien grew quiet again as the boy texted on his phone, likely for a ride home, while Marinette tried walking on her own again and found that despite the ache it came to her better than she was expecting. Her vision was drawn toward her familiar pink chaise, and felt a twinge of guilt knowing how long Tikki had remained still and quiet under the pillow.

 _I'm lucky to have such a patient and considerate kwami,_ she thought gratefully.

Marinette went about her business quietly, tidying some of the cluttered objects on her desk and cringing when she noticed that the pictures of Adrien were all still plastered on the wall for him to see. Yes, he was already aware of them, and his knowledge was that Marinette used them as references for fashion studying, but it was still embarrassing.

Right then was when she snapped out of her reverie.

 _Oh right, Adrien!_

It had been many minutes since the other boy spoke, and he had not moved from the pink chair pulled up to the monitor. She frantically turned to look at him, and gaped with both shock and amazement.

Adrien was slumped in her chair, head lolled back and lips barely parted in a deep sleep. However, as Adrien Agreste went, even when he was slumped in a chair fast asleep Marinette was still blushing profusely at how charming he looked. She would've never known that he was tired based on the energy he had displayed to her that day, but then she traced her thoughts back to his actions at school.

She knew something had been amiss when she saw what was happening to him that morning, but he wouldn't admit anything to her. She had gotten so distracted by their antics that evening that she had completely forgotten to press him for details.

 _It could've just been that he's been sleeping badly lately and he's having side effects. I should let him sleep._

Marinette smiled as she watched him breathe gently, and couldn't help but brush a stray strand of golden hair from off his forehead. His hair sometimes reminded her of her dear partner, Chat Noir.

Minutes passed. The young teenage girl had returned to her puttering around the room. Tikki had finally emerged from the pillow, and took Marinette's hectic apologies well, as she always did. She kissed her holder quickly on the cheek before flying up to where her soft bed was, and resorted to hiding out there.

Marinette passed the time that her crush slept soundly to begin sketches on a new dress she wanted to craft.

 _I want it to be a representation of the sea, so shades of blue and silver is definitely the way to go. If I want it to remind people of water, the bottom half should be light and floaty, and maybe the dress should have a gradient from lighter blues to darker blues from top to bottom, as if one was going deeper into the ocean._

Her thoughts continued to buzz through her head as she swiftly sketched small notes and doodles into her notebook. They were suddenly interrupted by the loud ding of a phone, to which Marinette quickly realized belonged to Adrien.

She curiously peeked over at the notification on the screen.

 ** _'Nathalie: I am almost there. Be waiting outside.'_**

 _Oh crap!_

Her blue eyes gazed over at the snoozing teenager, and much to her dismay she realized that she had no choice but to wake him. Quickly.

Marinette gripped Adrien's arm and shook it as she shadowed him.

"Adrien? Hey, you've gotta wake up now."

No response. She frowned with concern, and then took his shoulders with both hands, giving them a shake.

"Adrien, wake up!"

Nothing. The blonde haired boy remained fully passed out.

Now Marinette's apprehension began getting much deeper. Was Adrien really that strong of a sleeper? She rattled him harder, her voice starting to break as she felt more and more unsettled by his behavior.

"Adrien! Can you hear me?"

No response.

"Please Adrien! Wake up!"

No response.

"Adrien!"

Her voice was rising to a wail as her bluebell eyes threatened to fill with water. She heard her mother questioning her from downstairs but she ignored it.

 _"Adrien!"_

Adrien's body awoke with an unnaturally sharp jerk and his breath heaved as he floundered from the chair and fell to the floor on his rear. His green eyes were wide with panic and welling with moisture, as if tears were about to spring but something was holding them back. He panted heavily and held a fist to his chest, clutching his shirt with what appeared to be a death grip, while his forehead shone in the light with a layer of sweat and his whole body trembled violently.

Speaking lightly, he looked absolutely _terrified._

Marinette just sat to the side and watched on, soft but widened eyes staring at Adrien in absolute horror. She was sure he must've just had the worst nightmare in the history of nightmares, since his expression looked liked he just sat and watched someone brutally murder someone he loved.

"H-holy shit Adrien..." she muttered as her legs gave out and she crumbled to the ground beside him.

Not long ago, Marinette would normally avoid using cuss words in her everyday speech, but sometimes a certain situation called for it.

This was definitely one of those times.

Marinette bit her lip with uncertainty. Adrien wasn't calming down. He was still so anxious, and she didn't really know what to do in order to comfort him. However, urgently, her best attempt was shifting up beside him on the floor and provide leverage for him by wrapping an arm around his shoulders gently while she soothed his nerves with words of comfort.

"Everything's okay Adrien. You're safe now, everything's fine. Just take deep breaths. You're okay."

She continued to comfort him as his shivers and hiccups began to stop and his breathing gradually slowed.

Eventually, after what felt like many minutes, Adrien took a deep breath to collect himself before looking up at Marinette. His usual kind and lively green eyes were replaced with a dull expression of exhaustion and utter sadness. It made her heart clench with unspeakable pain.

"I-I-I'm sorry you had t-to see that..." he stuttered quietly, a shake in his voice.

She dismissively nodded, and stated, "I-It's alright... I was just scared as hell. What happened?"

"Just..." he turned his head away. "A nightmare."

She narrowed her eyes to him and practically hissed, "Adrien, that wasn't _just_ a nightmare. It took me six attempts just to wake you and I was so worried! And then you come out of it and collapse on the floor in a panic attack, and you still won't tell me what's going on. So please... just explain!"

A shiver ran through the boy's body. Intensity poured into Marinette's gaze as the two of them locked eyes, and Adrien appeared to be quietly debating to himself. He then parted his lips in the beginning of saying something to her, but was interrupted just as he started by his phone dinging once again. He grabbed the device and cringed with gritted teeth when he saw the message.

"Oh geez! Sorry, I-I've gotta go Marinette," he spoke frantically.

Marinette helped him up off the floor by supporting his arm, and after being a bit wobbly when he started to walk he seemed to manage just fine. She escorted him to the front door, and was unexpectedly but joyfully surprised as he turned around and wrapped his arms around her tightly in an embrace.

He murmured in her ear, "Thanks for everything Marinette... I had a great time!"

Extremely flustered, she hugged him back and responded, "It was a lot of fun. You're welcome back anytime."

Her head was screaming at her to tell him, _"I love you,"_ but she concluded that she shouldn't go there quite yet.

She then watched him as he was driven away, and Marinette pondered to herself what she did to deserve knowing such a phenomenal person like him.

However, as amazing as Adrien was, he was most certainly caught in a dilemma and she was more determined than ever to help him out of it.

* * *

 **A/N:** Not sure when the next chapter will be, but I'm at a pace of about one chapter a week right now, which works for me ^^ Prepare to turn back to the angsty side of the story in Chapter 6


	6. Chapter 6: You're Never Alone

**A/N:** I'm starting to feel a bit of writers block seeping in but I'm doing my best to fight it off. I was late updating this because I spent 5 days at my cottage with no internet, and that will be on and off for about two months so updates might slow down a bit, sorry.

Anyway, since I'm trying not to get a heavier writers block I forced myself to keep writing, but I feel like this chapter is a bit lazy and rushed, even with editing included. I'm not super proud of this chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Also on a separate **(but important)** note, chapters 1 and 2 were written quite a while before the rest since I took a break after making them before continuing. Needless to say, the story was quite a bit more underdeveloped back then and I kind of hate some of the things Plagg said in chapter 2 (Such as making no mention of the scar that Adrien had) so please don't be mad at me for the inconsistency, but I'm going against a lot of what he said in that chapter... in this chapter.

I basically wanted to use part of this chapter to clear a lot of things up or answer a bunch of questions, and since writing chapter 2 I've now finished planning the fanficition and concluded what the cure would be, going against Plagg saying that there wasn't one, but in this chapter he says there is one. All of the information could be confusing for some people and I'm prepared for that, so please don't hesitate to leave a comment or message me if you have any questions about this story. I will definitely answer them and try to make this as clear as possible!

Sorry for rambling, I basically just wanted to say that chapter 2 is not a good source of information, since I'm changing quite a lot of what was said back then.

We've still got a long way to go so I hope despite the crumminess you still like this chapter and you stay tuned for more! Thanks for all of the support thus far, it really means so so much to me!

* * *

"Hee hee, try to keep up Chaton!"

"Sorry, it's just harder to focus on what's in front of me when someone as beautiful as you is in the way!"

Ladybug giggled as her companion adorned in black threw a wink her way when she looked back at him.

She bypassed running in the direction of the setting sun for the sake of her eyes, as her and Chat Noir spent their typical evening patrol racing along across the rooftops of Paris together. It was a quiet night, the city was glowing with golden lights, and there was no sign of danger. The two heroes had time to just have fun and enjoy themselves.

Three days had gone by since Marinette's day spent with Adrien. Since that time, the wound on her head had gradually healed and was now at the point where she barely noticed it anymore. She was able to freely parkour across Paris with her partner and not recoil in any way.

The two were practically racing as they sped along, barely even keeping focus on the fact that they were supposed to be patrolling. Chat made many attempts to catch up to Ladybug's lead, but to no avail, which always made her snicker. Eventually, the black cat hero grew a smirk before pulling out his baton and using it to vault himself into the air, far enough so that when he landed he had the lead.

"Hey! You cheater!" Ladybug cried out, hiding her giggles.

She picked up the pace, trying to race after Chat, all the while he kept throwing glances back at her to make sure he was still ahead, jumping skillfully from rooftop to rooftop.

Finally, when Ladybug was right at the hero's belt-like tail, she grabbed it to try and tug him backward, but instead yanked so hard that he flew back and crashed into her, causing both of their bodies to tumble back in a heap of limbs, rolling together until they subsided into an exhausted, sprawled mess on the rooftop.

Ladybug sat up from where she half-landed on top of Chat and she let out a wheeze of air, while the other hero untangled himself and stretched his back. The two turned to make eye contact, and after a few moments simply burst out laughing.

The spotted heroine sat alongside her black cat partner, both of them a chuckling mess as they swung their legs over the edge of the rooftop and looked out at the city together. This always ended up happening to the duo. They would be working together while out on patrol, but if there were no signs of danger they would get lost in their time together, fooling around and having fun like teen superheroes did, despite the fact that they were supposed to be on duty.

Although they were both aware of their responsibilities, they never cared if this happens because in the end they still had fun.

By the time they finally settled down and sat together in the quiet noises of the city and the darkness creeping into the sky, Chat Noir was the first one to talk.

"So, looks like we're safe from any akumas this evening, huh?"

"Yep. Hawkmoth's been pretty quiet lately. The last villain he sent was Lucid, and that was four days ago now."

Ladybug noticed Chat flinch at the mention of the last akuma they fought, and she caught the fear flashing in his eyes for a brief moment.

 _Is he still recovering from the blast he took from her?_ she wondered with a worried frown.

"Yeah... I guess it's good that he's been less active. It means less fighting for us, and more peace for the civilians," he pointed out.

The heroine nodded with agreement. Seeing as the two of them didn't have much to talk about, she brought it upon herself to form a conversation.

"So, remember a while back when we got to use those special water powers?"

Chat nodded with a smile and replied, "Oh yeah, that was really cool!"

"Well, what do you think the other six colours do? What kind of powers do you think we'll get?"

"Hmm... maybe the orange one will make us fireproof!"

"Yeah! And I heard the blue one has ice powers."

"Oh sweet!"

Chat Noir and Ladybug sat together as twilight fell over Paris, sharing pleasant conversation and memories. They eventually stood up and began patrolling across the rooftops once again, but it wasn't enough to stop their chattering. As they walked together the duo rambled on about school, past akuma battles, some of the issues they've had as civilians, their hobbies, and of course enjoying the view of the city. Ladybug and Chat simply loved keeping each other company.

The red and black spotted heroine had asked her partner a curious question about how he had the ability to purr, only to notice with surprise that he had strayed behind her while she paced ahead. Ladybug stopped and looked behind her, seeing Chat standing a few metres back, completely immobilized. His vision was lingering on a large billboard close to where they stood, and his cat-like green eyes were wide with horror.

Troubled, Ladybug asked him as she paced over to him, "Chat Noir, what's the matter?"

His gaze didn't break from the large board, but he murmured to her, "That person over there... I saw them kill you."

"I-I'm sorry?" she stammered with shock.

Ladybug had no idea what her partner was talking about. She saw moisture starting to well in his eyes while he stared at the billboard, which had a large picture of a smiling person on it for an advertisement. Chat's eyes seemed distant and glossy, like he was very deep in thought.

 _Is he seeing the person on the board as someone else?_ she wondered with confused horror.

"They shot you... I saw it..." he growled through gritted teeth. "I can't have that... I-I just can't! They have t-to pay!"

Chat Noir let out an anguished roar while he summoned his Cataclysm power. It was as if he didn't even see her standing right there, as she watched on with wide, terrified eyes.

She cried while trying to grab his arm, "Chat stop!"

Ladybug watched as the black cat hero shook his head violently as light tears began slipping down his cheeks. He yanked his arm free and used his baton to hurl himself off the roof and toward the person's picture on the board. He slashed it with his Cataclysm, yelling angrily in the process. She witnessed as it was coated black and crumbled to dust, while many surrounding civilians stared at Chat Noir with confused surprise.

The male hero still seemed extremely out of it, as he slowly stood up from where he had landed on the ground below and looked around at the people watching him with an obscure gaze. Afraid he might try to attack a bystander, Ladybug shot down from where she stood with gritted teeth and jumped down beside her partner. She wrapped a strong arm around his waist and used her other hand to throw her yo-yo, and took off into the air while holding onto Chat.

 _I need to know what the heck is happening to him!_ she thought desperately. _First Adrien starts acting up and now Chat Noir is seeing things! Why are bad things happening to all of the best guys in my life?_

Ladybug carried the other hero with her until they could take refuge at a spot where no civilians were around and the noise was quiet, so they could have a private talk to themselves. She set him down, only to see that his eyes still looked as if they were trapped in a reverie. He crumbled to the ground on his knees and wiped some of his tears away.

"I d-don't know... what's happening..." he choked out. "I keep s-seeing things that look real, b-but I know they're not s-supposed to be there!"

Ladybug sat down in front of him and took one of his hands gently, using her other hand to place against his cheek soothingly. It was damp from his tears, the moonlight reflecting from it.

She softly asked him with a hint of desperation, "Could you... start by telling me what happened to you? Nothing's been the same since the fight against Lucid, w-what happened?"

Chat was obviously hesitating. His gaze was filled with emotions and he couldn't meet her eyes. Only when Ladybug put her hand against his chin and propped his head up did their eyes meet, and after many minutes did the cat hero eventually sigh with defeat and had to blink back more tears threatening to spring.

"The thing is... L-Lucid, when she struck me with that large blast..." Chat took a shaky breath. Ladybug was patient. "I-I got a curse called Fatal Dreaming, and I've been having these horrifying nightmares ever since."

Out of nowhere, Ladybug felt as if someone had punched her hard in the gut. She forgot how to breathe for a moment, and her bluebell eyes grew huge.

Her partner...

Her friend...

Chat Noir...

He was _cursed?!_

 _Is that why he tried attacking me after he woke up the first time?_

 _Is that why Chat has seemed off lately?_

 _Was that why he thought someone had shot me?_

Needless to say, that was most definitely _not_ what she was expecting.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Chat stammered, his lip quivering. "I'm just s-so scared, and I don't know what to do... I haven't slept in days, and it's starting to show in my every day life. All of my friends are worried about my well-being and strange behavior, but I j-just can't tell them! I can't tell anyone!"

The black cat hero wasn't holding back his tears anymore. Ladybug sat by his side as he broke down and progressively choked out most of the story to her, while she was fully engaged in what he had to say. He confessed that there were some additions to it that he couldn't tell her yet, but she reassured him that it was okay. He had to take his time. Eventually, his speech was getting blocked out by uncontrollable sobs and the heroine cherished her partner in a strong embrace.

Chat Noir returned the hug to her, gripping her suit tightly as his tears dripped from his chin and stained her shoulder. Ladybug admitted to herself that she should have been a better partner and tried to help Chat right from when he was struck. Back then she had decided it wasn't a very big deal...

But it really was.

She felt guilt building inside of her, and her thoughts began swirling and thinking of ways this problem could be solved. Hearing her dear friend and partner break down like this was one of the worst things she'd ever witnessed, and her heart clenched in sorrow for the poor teenager. It was the kind of scenario you'd hear in a kind of dramatic fantasy book or a movie, but this time it was _real._

And it was completely horrifying for her.

 _He's merely a kid, just like me, and he's being put through this... I can't believe it._

Ladybug's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a sudden beeping, which she realized must be the cat miraculous: Chat's ring. She felt his head shift against her neck and shoulder as he turned to look at how much longer he had.

"I only have a minute," he muttered urgently. "I don't want to leave yet..."

She nodded and whispered to him, "It's okay, I'll close my eyes."

"...Thank you."

Ladybug gently shut her eyes and held the hug between them, right as she heard the sound of Chat's final beep and his suit started to disappear. The strong leather beneath her clenched fingers was replaced with soft material from a shirt or sweater, and she heard a huff from Chat Noir's kwami.

"You're a mess, you know that?" he scoffed.

Ladybug felt the boy's head nod, and his arm shifted as he pulled out a piece of food for his small friend. Curiosity was definitely tugging at her eyelids to at least get a glimpse of what her partner's back looked like, but she fought to keep them shut.

Eventually, the cat kwami had finished eating and she heard the blonde boy mutter, "Claws out," with much less enthusiasm than she had heard from him previously, for obvious reasons. Once he gave her the okay, Ladybug opened her eyes and blinked them a few times against the lights of Paris. The boy she hugged gave another long, shaky breath and buried his head into the crook of her neck, before finally letting go of her shoulders. The two pulled the embrace apart to face each other once again.

"So... that's all I can really tell you about the situation," Chat concluded, his voice raspy and breaking.

Ladybug nodded sadly and replied, "I'm glad you've told me Chat, you shouldn't have to go through this alone. Have you tried finding a solution yet?"

He shook his head. "My kwami Plagg just keeps insisting I should tell you, and then go see some guy named Master Fu."

The girl's eyes suddenly lit up. Of course, the master must be able to help! Chat's kwami must know the address!

She quickly explained to Chat how she's met him many times. Master Fu is a miraculous holder himself and has remedies to almost anything from what she's seen, so surely he must be able to help him. Ladybug saw Chat Noir's eyes relax a bit while she explained this to him, and he agreed to go and see him as soon as he could.

"Great! He's helped me out with a lot of issues so I really hope he has a solution for your nightmares," she finished saying a bit too cheerfully.

Chat gave another nod, but didn't reply as his lighter expression deteriorated again. Ladybug practically felt her heart break at the sight of him, he was so weary and upset. She edged closer to him again and put a reassuring hand against her partner's shoulder.

"I'm very glad you trusted me enough to tell me what happened to you Chat," she told him in a quiet voice. "Whenever you feel comfortable enough, I'm always here to listen to you when you want to tell me the rest. Just take your time, okay?"

The black cat hero nodded and sniffed as tears threatened to fall from his eyes again, but he blinked a few times to hold them back.

He muttered to the heroine, "I will, I promise. I just... I feel so lost and alone. I want to tell everyone in my life about what's happened to me, I want to get on the floor and beg for them to help me somehow... but I can't."

Chat Noir pulled his hand up to his lips lightly bit down on his knuckle, a small whimper escaping him. Ladybug squeezed his shoulder as she began feeling cold pinpricks of rain starting to hit them.

After many long moments of silence, the pigtailed girl whispered to her partner, "I wish I could understand your struggle Chat, and I'm so sorry that you have to go through this. But please remember that you're never alone, okay?"

His cat-like eyes shifted up so their two pairs of eyes met, while the rain gradually began getting heavier, and he hummed his acknowledgement. The two heroes got to their feet and regrettably parted ways, Ladybug making an important mental note to help her partner in his struggle. Although, she had already had that thought an uncountable amount of times that evening.

She knew this night would leave an imprint on their relationship for a very long time. It was unlike Chat Noir to cry so violently, let alone in front of another person. But he seemed fully accept that it was okay to share this burden with her, so he did, and she was glad that he did.

 _I know he can't do this alone. He needs someone really badly, so now it's my job to be that person. If we want to protect Paris as a team, both of us need to be in tact, physically and mentally, and being cursed doesn't fit in that category to me._

She let out a sigh as she swung through the city, back in the direction of her family's bakery.

 _Chat Noir's mystery down, Adrien's to go._

* * *

In his usual flash of neon green light, the black leather suit vanished and the teenage boy was left standing in his room as Adrien Agreste again. Plagg emerged from his ring and looked down at his holder with worry as the blonde teenager sat down on his bed with exhaustion.

He clutched a hand against his sternum, and drew back the top of his shirt so he could look down at the black scar on his chest. After his last nightmare which had featured a shadowy male gruesomely shooting Ladybug in the head, Plagg had explained to Adrien how with every nightmare the dark mark would grow, and it would cause more pain as time went on.

 _All the more reason to avoid sleeping,_ he deduced.

"How're ya doing kid?" the kwami inquired.

Adrien rubbed his heavy, sleep-deprived eyes with two fingers and responded, "Could definitely be better, but I feel good about finally telling Ladybug."

Plagg nodded with agreement. "Yeah, I think you kept that from her for too long. But the next chance we get, you need to go see Master Fu. You remember him, right? The old guy who gave you your miraculous and then those special water powers?"

The image of the so-called master was creeping back into his mind from some time ago, and Adrien acknowledged his kwami's words with a tired hum. After spending the day with Marinette, the teenage boy had spent the night awake with Plagg asking him questions about his curse and trying to find a solution, which he knew the cat kwami was happy to a point about. However his mind still reeled with all of the information he had gathered that night, especially since he hadn't slept since then and had many hours in the night to revel in the information.

So with those thoughts, Adrien asked him, "So Plagg, can we just go through everything we talked about a few days ago one more time? I still need to make sure I understand it all..."

The kwami sighed and flew down to sit on his holder's thigh. "Again?" he grumbled. "Fine, but keep it brief this time. You already know everything you need to know, you just need time to wrap your head around it. I'd say you need sleep as well, but from what we've seen that isn't gonna help you."

He nodded somberly before starting, "So what I've gotten from you is that the past Chat Noir who had this was the first miraculous hero to be struck with this curse, which is why you didn't know how to cure it. His biggest fears were spiders and the loss of his family, and he dreamed about it a lot. When it got to the point that he was practically insane from the nightmares, and his scar was starting to kill him, he just committed suicide before it did, right?"

Plagg nodded sadly.

"However since that time, other miraculous holders have been hit with the curse and some have died from it while others have found the solution but kept it to themselves?"

"Yep, basically. No one knows why, but that's what they chose to do."

Adrien nodded with understanding, knowing that all he had to do was figure out how to make this stop because there must be a way.

 _Plagg only suggested that there was nothing we could do because he doesn't know what the cure is._

"Okay, and then Ladybug using her Miraculous Ladybug move doesn't cure the curse because it only fixes the damage caused by Hawkmoth, but this is something that goes farther back than that when a villain similar to Lucid created the evil magic, right?"

"Pretty much," the kwami confirmed.

Adrien nodded and paused for a few moments before he continued, "Eventually if I don't figure out how to stop this, the curse will probably result in death. If I sleep, the scar on my chest will grow larger and more painful and eventually kill me, or I'll kill myself. If I don't I'll get really sick and my body will likely force me to sleep. So before my condition gets too bad, I need to find a remedy."

He hated thinking about the future if he wasn't able to fix this, but he needed to know the dangers. He was already putting himself at risk by not sleeping for 3 days, and he could feel the utter exhaustion and lack of energy creeping in quickly.

Plagg gave another nod and asked, "Is that all?"

The golden-haired boy thought for another few moments before quietly asking, "Why have I been seeing images from my dreams while I'm awake?"

The cat-like creature frowned and responded, "That would be a condition called lucid dreaming, which happens sometimes because of the curse. It basically causes you to see things from past dreams while you're awake as if they were real."

Adrien sighed and cupped his small friend in his hands, the moonlight shining through the windows making his short black fur silvery. "Okay... thank you Plagg. This is all just a lot to take in."

"But you'll go see Master Fu to help you get this sorted out right?"

Adrien bit his lip with uncertainty while replying, "I-I mean, yes, I just have full schedules for the next few days so I don't know when I'll get a chance to sneak out and see him."

Plagg sighed and insisted, "Just try your best to visit him as soon as possible."

The golden-haired boy nodded firmly.

The kwami let out a yawn and flew over to where Adrien kept spare camembert on his desk. "So what do you plan on doing right now?" he asked nonchalantly.

He lightly hummed as he thought. He wanted desperately to get his mind off of the eminent disaster that awaited him, but what would make him happy?

 _Think Adrien, think. What kind of things make me happy? Spending time with Ladybug... playing video games and watching anime... baking..._

Wait, baking? Where did that come from? The only time he baked recently was at Marinette's house.

As if an invisible lightbulb lit up above his head, Adrien's face brightened as he said to Plagg, "I should go visit Marinette!"

Plagg lifted his head and stifled a groan.

"Wait, what? Whyyyy we just got home!"

He narrowed his eyes sternly at the kwami while standing up from his bed.

"Plagg, she may not be Ladybug but spending time with her completely took my mind off of the Fatal Dreaming curse and it made me feel really happy. If I can just keep that up then maybe this situation won't be as bad."

He began pacing as he rambled out his thoughts while they flew through his head.

"Once you eat you'll have enough energy to transform me again, and as Chat Noir I can go over to Marinette's house! She's met Chat Noir before and she's very kind and welcoming, so surely she'll let me in! Then I can just spend some quality time with her as a friend just like I did the other day."

"But you're about to go see her as Chat Noir, not Adrien. It's gonna be different, she won't treat you the same way as she treats Adrien," Plagg pointed out, cutting into his rapid speech.

"Please Plagg," the blonde boy begged, his desperation returning. "I can't think of anything else. I won't stay there all night, I just want to go visit her."

Eventually, the cat-like creature sighed and gave in to Adrien's demands.

"Fine, but stay out of trouble," he pestered.

With a final nod, Adrien gave an enthusiastic but not too loud, "Plagg, claws out!" and left the comfort of his room into the sleek and chilly rain as he made his way to Marinette's house.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hope you still found this chapter okay! I don't hate it, I just think it's rushed and could be better :/

Like I said, if you're confused or have a question please ask and I will answer! Thank you so much for all of the support on this story so far, it makes me so happy and I appreciate everything!


	7. Chapter 7: Princess

**A/N:** Happy to say that with some help, I went back to some previous chapters and made some minor touch-ups to improve the story. Slowly but surely getting better at writing!

Thank you so much for all of the reviews so far! The support means so much to me, and it makes me very happy to read them!

Hope you enjoy this chapter :)

* * *

Cold, soaking drops surged rapidly from Chat Noir's blonde hair into his face, while he sprinted across the buildings through the rainy night. He vaulted from building to building, his destination growing ever closer as he traveled in the direction of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. During the time that he soared over the streets of Paris, thoughts were flying through his mind practically as fast as lightning.

Was this a good idea? Would Marinette really make him feel better so easily?

 _I can only hope so._

Shouldn't he just go see Master Fu now?

 _I don't want to disturb him in the night, I should wait until daytime._

What if his father or Nathalie found him missing?

 _They're asleep right now._

What if they start noticing his exhaustion?

 _I'll say I have insomnia._

Should he have told Ladybug?

 _I tried dealing with this myself for a few days but I can't keep this up on my own. I need to take Plagg's advice and let other people who I can trust help me._

Chat blinked his green cat-like eyes as water streamed into them, and caught sight of Marinette's house just up ahead. Thankful for his night vision, he used his baton to leap across the few remaining rooftops and landed on her balcony mere moments later.

He lifted up his hand, smothered in dark leather, and reached down to knock on her trapdoor, but then hesitated. He knew she was awake, judging from the dim light streaming from her bedroom window, but what if she didn't want company, let alone his company?

 _The last thing I would want to do is bother her,_ he thought while gently biting his lip.

He then shook his head and metaphysically slapped himself in the face. _No, I came all this way to see her. I'm not backing down now._

With a feeling of intensity stirring within him, Chat Noir gently leaned down to Marinette's trapdoor and gave three light knocks.

* * *

"Thank you very much! Please come again."

Marinette watched as the final customer for the night exited the bakery. As the bell hanging over the door gave a final ding, her father changed the sign on the front window to 'Closed' and her mother gave a tired stretch.

"Another productive day," she spoke happily before putting her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Thank you for all of your help Marinette! We always appreciate it, especially after you've been out for a while."

Marinette's father nodded with agreement. "Yes, and those sugar cookies you and your friend Adrien made were delicious!"

The girl blushed, flattered by her mother and father's praise. It was true the cookies had been quite popular among returning customers.

She replied, "Oh, it was nothing! We had a lot of fun baking them, that's for sure."

Both of her parents gave an amused chuckle. She blinked at them.

"W-What is it?"

"Oh, nothing. We just think that Adrien fellow seems rather fond of you," her father teased. "The two of you are quite cute together."

Marinette felt the heat rise in her freckled cheeks. She was at least thankful that no one was around to hear them, but it didn't stop her parents from being embarrassing.

"Papaaaa!" she groaned.

Marinette's mom giggled, "We're just joking dear. Why don't you head off to bed, and we'll take care of the cleanup down here."

The blue-haired girl nodded gratefully, and gave her mom and dad each a peck on the cheek before heading up to her bedroom for the night, the stairs thumping beneath her feet. Once out of sight from her parents, Marinette's smile faded.

She had returned from duty as Ladybug just as the sun had finished setting and it began to rain, and decided to help out her parents in running the bakery until closing time, so she hadn't yet had the time to think more about what happened to her partner.

 _I still can't believe Chat Noir got cursed by Lucid..._ she thought sadly. _I need to figure out something to do... something to help him. I really care about him, and I don't want to watch him suffer through this alone._

The pink trapdoor up to her bedroom creaked as she opened it, and she was met with darkness. She stumbled her way over to her desk to flick on a small lamp that filled her room with a dim but gentle glow, and then sighed as she sat down in her rolling chair and Tikki flew out to meet her.

"What's wrong Marinette?" the kwami questioned in her usual sweet voice.

The teenage girl groaned and rubbed her temple with one hand. "It's not me, it's Chat. I just still can't believe everything that he told me Tikki..."

Her friend nodded with sad sympathy. "Yes, it is very unfortunate what has happened," she murmured. "I know that you want to help him, but there's nothing that you can really do Marinette. The cure has been kept a secret for an unknown reason."

She narrowed her eyes with determination as she looked down at the kwami, and she spouted, "Chat Noir is clearly going through hell just because he decided to take a hit for me, and just telling me what happened to him took a ton of courage. I can't just sit here with the information that he needs someone's help and not do anything about it! I swore I'd be there for him!"

The kwami nodded and flew up close to Marinette, sitting into her hands as she cupped them. The two exchanged solemn expressions.

"I'm sorry Marinette, I know you really want to help him..." Tikki told her quietly. "But until we get some clues there's nothing you can do. The best thing you can do for now is try to distract yourself from those thoughts and just be there for Chat Noir whenever he needs your support."

The pigtailed girl felt torn. She knew her kwami was completely right, but it frustrated her so much knowing that there wasn't anything she could do. Her bluebell eyes soaked with regret, she nodded with dismay before turning to her desk to find a way to distract herself from the thoughts.

Shortly after, Marinette began sliding through a stack of papers that she had sketched out fashion designs on, looking for one that she could start actually creating. She had many different styles of shirts, skirts, dresses, shoes, hats and accessories, but for most of them she either didn't have the proper materials to make it, she was dissatisfied with the design, or she just hadn't gotten around to it yet.

In the end, she had three different drawings in front of her. She debated which one she wanted to start working on, tapping her index finger to her chin. One was a stylish pale purple tank top with different coloured stripes, one was a short peach sundress with flowers peppering it, and the third was a pair of dangling earrings that resembled silver stars, but they had six points and a yellow jewel in the middle.

She started leaning more toward the earrings, when her kwami suddenly flew up with a piece of paper that she had set off to the side just a day earlier.

"Hey, what about this Marinette?"

She looked up at the sketch her friend was holding to her. It was the dress she had begun work on when Adrien was over, which she had now finished the drawing and was planning on making and wearing it to a dance her school was having in a few weeks, with the hopes of impressing her crush.

Tikki suggested, "You wanted to make this dress in time for the dance, so why don't you just start making it now? At the very least it'll keep you distracted."

The teenage girl beamed and nodded with agreement. Her little kwami always had the best ideas!

"Great thinking Tikki!" she praised. "I think I will start making this. Here, can you help me get all of the materials set up?"

"Sure thing!"

With the help of her ladybug-like friend, Marinette gathered and set up the supplies she needed to start making one of her favourite dress designs she had ever made. Despite it being rather late at night, she felt fully awake and alert as she puttered away, just as the rain puttered against her bedroom window.

All thoughts about Chat's curse had gone away for the time being, and she was fully focused on making sure everything was just right. The folds, the lengths, the stitching...

It felt like barely any time had passed when Marinette jumped with alarm at the knock coming from her trapdoor. What shocked her the most was that the noise didn't come from the door going downstairs, but rather the one that went to the balcony. She stared up at it with wide eyes as she approached to open it, Tikki already hidden.

 _Who the heck could that be at this time of night?_ she asked herself in confusion. _And how the hell did they get up onto my balcony?!_

As Marinette lifted the wooden pink door, she paid no mind to the abundance of raindrops that fell onto her bed or the pinpricks of water striking her cheeks, and instead widened her blue eyes at the superhero she found to be looking back at her, a sort of silent plea shining in his eyes as he crouched on all fours.

"Ch-Chat Noir?!" she questioned with shock. "W-What the heck are you doing here? It's almost midnight... and it's pouring rain!"

He cast a glance sideways and halfheartedly chuckled, "Heh, y-yeah I know, not one of my best moves. Do you mind if I come inside? Then I'll explain, I swear."

She hesitated. Sure, she knew Chat very well and always enjoyed spending time with him, but that was as Ladybug. In his perspective, she was just some girl he's saved a couple times before and also showed his sensitive side to one time a few months ago. As Marinette she wasn't supposed to know him very well.

 _And I get that he's struggling with his ailments, but... why come to me?_

However, despite this, Marinette nodded to him and replied, "O-Okay, come on in then," concluding that he must not want to be alone, just like the other time.

The hero nodded gratefully and slipped inside her room, apologizing profusely about getting her bed soaked in rainwater, but she shrugged it off and they climbed down the ladder to the floor. Once he hit the floor, Chat Noir lightly shook his body out like a wet dog, spraying some stray water across her room.

Marinette giggled, but proceeded to feel a twinge of discomfort as he gazed around the room, seemingly taking in every inch of it. She told herself that he's been here before when fighting akumas, and she was the one who invited him inside in the first place. There shouldn't have been a problem.

 _Just calm down Mari... stop being so hectic and just ask him what he's doing here,_ she scolded herself.

"I'm so sorry for invading your privacy like this, especially so late at night. Really, I just couldn't be by myself right now and I... w-well, I needed someone to be with," Chat Noir disclosed rather quietly.

 _That works too._

"It's fine, r-really," she sputtered to him. "I was actually pretty wide awake, it was more just surprising how you showed up out of nowhere."

Chat nodded solemnly, but didn't reply while he took a seat on the side of her chaise. Marinette frowned sadly, knowing exactly what was wrong with him but she wasn't really supposed to know, so of course she kept her mouth shut.

More so than that, she was surprised that Chat didn't seem to be acting like his normal self recently, even when he was with Ladybug. He wasn't making puns, he was emotional, and he wasn't as cocky and flirty. Sadly, it made her realize how truly bad it was. He wasn't acting like his usual self at all.

Eager to break up the awkward silence, she inquired, "So, why can't you be alone right now, i-is something wrong? And why come to me?"

The black cat hero chuckled and gave a shrug as if he didn't care.

He explained to her, "I've been having some... troubles lately. Let's just say that hero work has been getting to me a little bit and I haven't been sleeping well. I wasn't feeling good after being on patrol today and I don't like feeling sad, so I wanted to seek out someone to talk to who makes me happy. I of course would choose Ladybug first, but I don't know her identity so..."

"You settled for me?"

He nodded.

Marinette couldn't help but force down a blush, feeling flattered that Chat Noir sought her out to make him feel better as both her civilian and heroine form. It felt nice having someone care so deeply about you.

"W-Well that's fine then! I wasn't really doing anything too important, I was just working on that dress over there for a dance at my school," she told him, pointing to the blue and silver dress that was still in it's early stages.

She watched as his cat-like eyes lifted up and suddenly grew wide with awe at the sight of it, and he stood up from where he was seated on the chaise to look at it closer.

"Woah, you made that?" he breathed. "It's so beautiful, how do you do it?"

Marinette had to put a hand to her cheek to try and hide how much this stupid cat was making her blush as she trailed behind him.

"Oh, th-thank you! I want to be a fashion designer when I'm older, so I've practiced a lot on making my own clothes. I'm hoping to impress this guy that I like at my school," she stuttered.

He turned and gazed at her eagerly.

"There's a guy you like? What's his name?"

"Oh, it's n-not important..." she excused with embarrassment.

"It's okay, you can tell me!" Chat Noir curiously pointed to her many portraits of Adrien. "Is it that guy you have a ton of pictures of on your wall?"

Marinette's arms floundered as she chuckled and faltered, "A-Adrien? N-no! No, I just use those as r-references, y'know?"

She looked at Chat. He was gazing back at her with a suspicious smirk and a cocked up eyebrow. The teenage girl eventually sighed with defeat, knowing there wasn't much point in hiding her feelings.

"Yeah... i-it is him," she confessed.

He put his clawed hand to his chin. "Adrien Agreste, right?" he murmured. "What do you like about him? What makes him so special to you, that he's a model?"

Marinette shook her head, feeling more calm now about telling Chat Noir how she felt. It wouldn't hurt anyone if he knew, and she might as well try to keep his mind off of his curse.

She explained, "Not really, no. Of course it's a bonus that I get to see him do model work because he's awfully handsome, but since I've gotten to know him personally I know that he's generally a really amazing guy. He puts his friends before himself, he's very kind, he supports me and doesn't mind when I'm a stuttering mess or a klutz, and he's very brave. I care about him a lot, although I don't think he'll ever notice me. But as long as we can be friends, I'm still happy."

Marinette wondered why Chat Noir glanced away and blushed heavily as he listened to her.

Was he jealous?

No, that's ridiculous. He loved Ladybug.

"...A-And you're making this dress just so you can impress him?" he questioned.

"W-Well, I mean... yeah. I really liked it so I was hoping he would too."

He smiled gently.

"Wow... you're amazing princess."

The pigtailed girl smirked and gave him a light shove on the arm.

"Princess? Where'd you get that little nickname from?" she teased.

"S-Sorry, it just kind of came out," Chat muttered, rather flustered.

"No no, it's fine. Do you have a pet name for Ladybug too? Didn't you call her bugaboo or something once when you were on television?" she asked, pretending to be oblivious to what she already knew.

He chuckled, "Heh, yeah I have given her a few. Not sure that she really likes them though, mostly since she never agreed to them."

"Well I never agreed that you could call me princess."

"Fine then I'll just call you gorgeous," he teased her.

"Oh gosh, don't."

He leaned in closer with a flirty smirk.

"Stellar?"

"Nope, definitely not!"

"Dazzling?"

"No, don't!"

"Angel?"

"No!"

"Goddess?"

"Stop!"

Marinette had transformed into a blushing, giggling mess at how much the hero was teasing her. Evertually, he drew back and gave a victorious smile.

"Princess it is then!" he declared.

She rolled her eyes, although she was rather enjoying getting to spend time with the boy.

"Ugh, fine. As long as I can call you Chaton," she blurted out without proper thought.

He paused, his happy expression fading away into surprise, before repeating quietly, "Chaton?"

Marinette blinked. "What, you want a different nickname?"

"No, no, it's just... that's what Ladybug calls me," he told her with a suspicious eyebrow raise.

 _Oh crap!_

"Oh, i-it is?" she sputtered.

"Yeah, sometimes."

"Do you want me to change it?"

"No, it's fine! Really, I don't mind."

The two of them fell into a calming silence. The dimly lit room was quiet as the rain from outside splashed against the window making a clacking noise, and Marinette and Chat Noir appreciated one another's presence.

Subsequently, after a number of minutes, Chat looked back toward her work in progress and stated, "So princess, I don't have anything better to do than spend some time with you. Shall I help you with that dress of yours?"

She looked over at him with a surprised smile. Did he really want to help her?

"You sure? You don't seem much like the fashionista type to me."

He gave a wink to Marinette along with a flirty smirk.

"Ah, but you never know princess."

She met his smirk with one of her own, before shrugging with defeat and asking out loud, "What have I got to lose?"

* * *

By the time an hour had passed, Marinette and Chat Noir had managed to finish all of the fabric measurements and other early stages of the dress she designed. So far, she was extremely pleased with the progress, and his help had made the process go much faster.

"Thanks for all of your help Chat," she said happily with a yawn. "It's kind of awkward to be having a superhero helping me out in my bedroom like this."

He waved his hand and made a 'pssh' sound with his lips.

"Nah, it was my full pleasure princess! I feel a lot better after spending some time with you," he declared with a bow.

She smiled and nodded, feeling very satisfied to know that she was able to provide him with condolence.

"I'm glad," she murmured, heavy sleep suddenly beginning to tug at her eyes.

Glancing at the clock, Marinette was rather surprised to see that it was already 1:36 AM. However, it explained where the sudden exhaustion came from. She lifted her hand to her mouth and exhaled a loud yawn, causing the black cat hero to react with a chuckle of amusement.

"Sounds like you should be getting to sleep," he commented, looking toward the trapdoor to the balcony. "It's pretty late, so I should probably be heading out."

She frowned. Strangely, Marinette felt a strong urge of regret to hear that the boy had to go. However, knowing that he had his own life outside of being a hero and needed sleep too, she simply nodded and murmured understanding. The pigtailed girl stood up from where she crouched at the bottom of the half-made dress, but a wave of impotence splashed over her abruptly and she stumbled across the room. She nearly collapsed onto the floor but suddenly felt strong arms catch her under her shoulders.

"Woah, careful!" Chat spoke softly, before offering, "Do you need help getting to bed?"

Marinette's only response was an exhausted hum. She could feel her conscience slipping away into the world of sleep quickly, and she found no energy to move so she simply slumped into Chat Noir's hold. She faintly recognized the feeling of her legs being lifted from the floor, and his arms draped in leather under her back and knees. He carried the girl up to her bed and set her down under the damp covers, allowing her to smile gently and snuggle into the comforting warmth.

"Goodnight princess," he softly whispered, placing a gentle kiss to her hand before placing it down.

The hero turned to exit the building out the trapdoor. Despite being fully enveloped in a drowsy state, Marinette's instinct kicked in which yelled, " _No! He doesn't want to be alone, and you love his company. Please don't go!"_ causing her hand to shoot out and grab his tail to stop him. He turned back to look down at her with surprise.

Eyes half open, she murmured to him, "No... stay..."

Chat Noir didn't look angry or confused, but almost curious. As if he was wondering if it was okay for him to stick around or not. Like a debate in his head of which was the better option: Go home and get some rest like he should be doing, or stay and keep Marinette company because you made her happy.

 _Please don't go..._

Much to her pleasure, he smiled and nodded to her. Chat walked back over to her bed and sat down at the side, leaning forward and brushing stray hair out of her face. She sighed peacefully.

"... Okay," he declared in a hushed voice. "I'll stay."


	8. Chapter 8: Powerless

**A/N:** Sorry for taking a while to update ^^ This chapter was definitely a tougher one, but I'm very pleased with the results! Thank you once again for all of the support thus far!

OneSky, to answer your question, yes Lucid was defeated between Chapters 1 and 2. I apologize if that was not made clear.

Massive thanks to my friend unlucky chat noir who helps me edit this story! She wrote about half of this chapter with me, and it was definitely a great team effort. Thank you for all of your help! 3

With that being said, I would say I hope you enjoy this chapter but you probably won't so... good luck :)

* * *

 **WARNING: Torture is present in this chapter so please do not read this chapter if you don't think you can handle it. A brief explanation will be given at the start of next chapter for those who skip this one.**

 **Seriously, it's pretty bad.**

 **This chapter is basically the Avengers: Infinity War of the fanfiction**

* * *

 _Silence._

 _The surroundings felt like anything but life. Black... quiet… it was almost peaceful, but the more he regained consciousness the more it felt like a bitter, dark void._

 _It was cold- no, it was freezing. The air felt thin and it left a burning and dry ache in Adrien's throat, causing him to cough in an attempt to expel the unpleasant feeling. The blonde could barely see once he finally opened his eyes, the darkness plaguing his senses. The room was smoggy, and every breath released a puff of visible air. Where was he? Was this some kind of freezer? He couldn't remember how he got there, the last thing he remembered was being in Marinette's room at night._

 _Before that… he didn't know. But that didn't matter right now._

 _The blonde haired boy finally looked around, his actions slow as his body trembled from the numbing cold, his hands lacking of almost any feeling. When he finally looked down at himself, he realized he was in a chair, failing to notice earlier from the lack of proper warmth. Adrien tried to lift his hand, but instead was restrained by some kind of rope wrapped around his arms and tied to the back of it. It didn't take him long to discover the additional rope holding down his ankles to the chair's legs as well._

 _He was trapped._

 _The teenager felt his blood run cold and his heart drop at the realization. Someone had trapped him in this freezing, dark place. Who was it? Where was he?_

 _Just before Adrien could try to call out for help, the lights suddenly turned on above him and he squeezed his eyes shut quickly at the abrupt brightness. He slowly began to open them again when he heard heavy footsteps drawing closer, his eyes finally adjusting to the blinding white light. When he looked ahead again, he drew in a shuddering gasp that caused him to once again cough._

 _He wasn't alone._

 _Sitting in front of him was Marinette, tied up and freezing the same way he was. She seemed to be unconscious, or perhaps just keeping her eyes shut considering how vigorously she was shivering. Why was she here too?_

 _"M-Marinette...?" he choked out hoarsely. Was she okay? Was she hurt?_

 _To some relief, he saw her slowly lift up her head and blink open her blue eyes. They were flooded with worry and fear as she blinked and shivered, and Adrien felt a twinge of desperation to remove that expression off of her face. Of course, Marinette had every right to be terrified and confused, as was he, but he hated seeing such a pained expression on her. She didn't deserve it._

 _Another figure came into view, one that Adrien didn't recognize. The person was tall and darkened by the shadows, giving off a sinister aura. Somehow, he looked rather blurry to Adrien. Was the cold somehow messing with his ability to see?_

 _"Hello Adrien," the shadow bellowed as he turned to where he was restrained._

 _The teen saw a cloud of air come from him as he let out a shaky breath. He couldn't fully see the man standing before him, and didn't recognize his voice. He had so many questions, but he was forced to keep his mouth shut, partly because his lips would most likely split and start bleeding from the dry, frozen air._

 _Where was he? How did he get here? Who was this man? What did he want with him and Marinette?_

 _What would happen to them?_

 _Thankfully, one of them built up the courage to attempt speaking._

 _"W-What's going on? Where are we, and w-who are you?" Marinette spoke softly through coughs and shivers._

 _The figure made no movement at her voice, remaining faced toward Adrien. All of his senses were blaring and screaming,_ _ **"Danger! Danger! Danger!"**_ _but despite his attempts to fight against the restraints he knew it was completely hopeless. He couldn't speak, he couldn't move, he couldn't act. All he could do was sit._

 _The man in front of him questioned him, "What is the identity of Ladybug?"_

 _Adrien swallowed the lump in his throat. This person wanted information._

 _Important information._

 _He could see Marinette tense up at the question, but she kept quiet. Adrien didn't want anything to happen to her, and a part of him was grateful this strange shadow was ignoring her for the time being and only focusing on him._

 _Of course, unknown to the answer, Adrien lowered his head and rasped, "I... I don't know..."_

 _"Do you know where she lives?" he inquired again._

 _"... N-No."_

 _"Do you know Ladybug in real life?"_

 _"I d-don't know!" he gasped desperately._

 _Why was this man asking him so many damn questions? Why did he need information on Ladybug so badly?_

 _"And you don't know her name."_

 _"No..."_

 _"Who is the boy that Ladybug likes?"_

 _Through gritted teeth Adrien's voice elevated to upset shouting, "I don't know!"_

 _Marinette was shaking. A lot. Her head was lowered, avoiding eye contact with him. The teenage boy didn't know if she was frightened, sad, or simply cold. He felt so numb at this point that he didn't even notice his uncontrollable trembling anymore._

 _Besides the cold, Adrien additionally felt warm water beginning to well in his eyes. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take of this,. It was getting unbearable, and the prying of questions wasn't helping._

 _'I just need to find a way out of here,' he thought._

 _The blonde slowly looked back up at the shadowy man, still not sure why he couldn't see his face properly. Subsequently, the man then turned to face Marinette, who had yet to look up. The sudden change of the man's attention gave Adrien an uneasy feeling that set in his stomach and sent chills down his spine, as if he could get any colder._

 _Marinette slowly looked up. He was expecting her attention to be directed at the man before her, but her gaze instead met Adrien's. His heart clenched. Somehow, she almost looked apologetic. What did she have to apologize for? This wasn't her fault. Then again, he had no idea how they even ended up in this mess. He wished with all his heart that he could remember._

 _'I don't care right now,' he scolded himself. 'I just want to help her... to get us out of here... to-'_

 _The sudden echo of a loud crack sent Adrien reeling back, his green eyes widening in shock when he saw Marinette get slapped across the face. The sight made his heart drop to his stomach, a feeling of dread and fear settling in._

 _He made a realization. Like a giddy kid at their surprise birthday party._

 _'This can't be happening…'_

 _This wasn't just an interrogation._

 _This was_ _ **torture.**_

 _"S-Stop! D-Don't hurt her!" he shuddered, struggling against the restraints. He could feel the friction of the ropes warming his cold wrists._

 _The figure fully ignored Adrien, more focused on Marinette, who was grimacing in pain._

 _He asked her, "What is your name?"_

 _"M-Marinette... Dupain-Ch-Cheng..." she replied weakly, her body trembling._

 _This wasn't fair, she shouldn't have to go through this, it wasn't her fight. The teenage boy wanted to help her somehow, but despite his best efforts he knew that fighting was pointless. He was powerless to do anything._

 _"Do you love this boy?" the man asked._

 _Adrien bit his lip. The tension was unbearable, and he almost expected this man to lash out and hurt Marinette at any moment. It dragged his attention away from the bitter cold that filled the area._

 _Bright red smothering her cheeks, she nodded and muttered, "Y-Yes I do..."_

 _He jerked at the ropes around his wrists again, trying to free himself, but again to no avail._

 _This figure was asking Marinette questions, just as he had done to Adrien, except these ones she could answer. Maybe this meant that he wouldn't hurt her anymore? He had no idea what would happen, all he could do was sit and pray._

 _The shadowy man pointed to Adrien and questioned, "Do you blame him for putting you through this?"_

 _His inquiry was met with silence._

 _The two teenagers were still, their trembling breaths the only sound that filled the room. Marinette slowly lifted her gaze to meet with his, who was staring at her expectantly._

 _He wanted to scream._

 _Her bluebell eyes were soaked with emotions that he could barely read. Pain, sadness, exhaustion, desperation, hopelessness..._

 _Fear._

 _He would do anything by now to help her._

 _Anything to take that depressing expression from off of her face._

 _'But… I can't do anything…'_

 _A few minutes dragged on, and Marinette never answered the man's question, which left him dissatisfied. Adrien's bite pressure against his own lip suddenly increased at the sight of the gleaming of a silver dagger the man pulled out of his back pocket._

 _"No!" he spouted without thinking. "Stop! D-Don't hurt her, please!"_

 _The man glanced over at the blonde, then back over at Marinette who looked just about ready to cry. Adrien desperately tried to get up, his wrists beginning to burn from the friction of the ropes. He then had to watch as the man dragged the blade of his knife across her upper arm, breaking the skin and drawing a rivulet of blood. The most terrible part for him was having to hear her shriek of pain._

 _"S-Stop!" the blue haired girl cried._

 _Adrien hated that he was right. This really was torture._

 _The man held the dagger in place and leaned in close to her, asking again, "Do you blame him for putting you through this?"_

 _Marinette was panting through the ache, and muttered in response, "N-No... I don't."_

 _"Wrong answer," the man snarled._

 _Adrien watched in horror as the dark figure suddenly stabbed the dagger into Marinette's thigh, a bloodcurdling scream erupting from the pained girl. He could see her tugging at the ties keeping her hands pinned behind her, but her strength quickly ebbed and she slowly stopped struggling._

 _The blonde teen felt a wave of nausea wash over him at the sight of her blood streaming down her leg. This was too much for anyone to watch, and Adrien was having an increasingly harder time dealing with it. This was his classmate and close friend, the one person he felt comfortable enough to spend time with and talk to outside of school during all of the madness of this curse. This was someone he laughed with and was able to share his feelings with, and now... she was taking the blunt of all of this agony and torture, all because he wasn't strong enough to save her._

 _At the thought and with the motivation of Marinette's screaming, Adrien struggled and pulled at the ropes again, groaning and wincing at the burning pain in his wrists._

 _He had to escape! It was the only way he could rescue his friend!_

 _He felt something warm start running down his palms, and he shivered with the dread of realizing he was feeling his own blood. Blood was coming from his wrists that were now split open from the tough rope._

 _'It doesn't matter,' Adrien scolded himself. He couldn't care less about his own little injures right now._

 _It was nothing compared to what Marinette was experiencing._

 _"It's simple, all I need you to do is answer my questions," the man spoke sadistically to Adrien. "Then I won't do this to her."_

 _He twisted the knife that was currently jammed in her thigh, triggering another yelp of agony from the girl who now had tears running down her cheeks._

 _His voice echoed._

 _'All I need you to do is answer my questions…'_

 _It broke Adrien's heart into a million pieces, knowing this was happening because of him. Why couldn't he just answer the fucking questions? He must know the answer to one of them! There must be a way to make this end!_

 _He was Marinette's only hope!_

 _The figure turned the knife further._

 _The teenage girl almost silently cursed, "Sh…. Shit…."_

 _Scarlet blood was falling down Marinette's leg in a fast river now, pooling at her feet as she trembled and whimpered again._

 _The blonde was forced to shut his eyes and turn his head away from facing her chair. He couldn't stand this! He felt like he was going to hurl!_

 _"St-Stop! Please, d-don't do this to her. She doesn't d-deserve it!" he cried, his voice croaking from the bitter cold. "I don't know the answer t-to any of your questions! I-I just don't know! Just stop!"_

 _He was matching Marinette's actions now, struggling hysterically to escape as hot tears of agony poured down his face. Why her? Why did it have to be her?_

 _"If you look away, I'll make this worse for her," the man growled._

 _'Worse…'_

 _Reluctantly, Adrien obeyed and opened his eyes again to look ahead at his friend. He would do anything to take the burden off of her shoulders._

 _The burden that he caused._

 _The dark figure nodded and gripped the hilt of the dagger, lifting the now blood-soaked blade out of her leg as she gasped and sobbed._

 _"Anything you'd like to say Marinette?" the figure mocked, much to Adrien's fury._

 _She glared at him dead in the eye and barely managed to snarl, "G-Go t-to Hell…"_

 _The man dropped his dagger on the ground with a 'clang' and proceeded to step behind Marinette's chair. Adrien's breath was bated, unaware of what the man was going to do to her._

 _He just wanted this torture to end; For both of them._

 _"What is the identity of Ladybug?" he inquired again._

 _Should he lie? What if he lied, would that get him anywhere?_

 _When Adrien hesitated to answer, he heard the sudden cracking and snapping of what sounded like a stick being broken in half, and another scream escaped Marinette._

 _Another shudder ran down his spine._

 _The man growled, "You don't know."_

 _He sobbed. He didn't, but he wish he did. Why didn't he know? If he knew, Marinette wouldn't be in this scenario._

 _'This is all your fault,' the voice in his head yelled at him._

 _'Yourfaultyourfaultyourfaultyourfault...'_

 _"Where does Ladybug live?"_

 _Adrien didn't answer- he couldn't answer. He didn't know, he didn't know any of the answers to these questions and it tore him apart inside. Instead he just lowered his gaze in defeat, his body trembling from the numbing cold as his warm blood dripped from his fingertips and onto the ground._

 _He knew the consequences of refusing to look ahead, but he just couldn't anymore. It was more than unbearable now._

 _The teenager overheard the splitting of another solid object, and Marinette loudly screamed again. He kept his eyes glued shut._

 _The pain he felt inside from having to see one of his best friends like this, numbed everything else he felt. The freezing cold, his bleeding wrists, it was nothing compared to being forced to watch Marinette._

 _"Do you know Ladybug in real life?" the figure asked._

 _The blonde was silent, keeping his head lowered and his eyes shut. Another snap. The pigtailed girl shrieked again._

 _"Do you know her name?"_

 _The teen girl whimpered, "S…. s-stop…."_

 _Stop asking the questions? Stop tormenting her? Adrien didn't know._

 _Once again, he broke what Adrien presumed to be one of Marinette's bones when he refused to answer the question. He deduced that he must be snapping her fingers, since he seemed to be harming her multiple times so easily._

 _He sobbed._

 _"Answer me!" he hissed. "Who is the boy that Ladybug likes?"_

 _Adrien's breath hitched as tears fell heavily down his face. He was crying uncontrollably now, trying to find his voice through his aching, dry throat. He wanted to beg, he wanted to get on his knees and plead for her safety. He would do anything to make this stop, he just wanted Marinette to be safe._

 _But all he could hear was her bloodcurdling screams._

 _His eyes refused to open when he heard the man creating snap after snap, breaking bone after bone. Marinette was growing weaker, her screaming dwindling into soft whimpers of agony._

 _"I warned you this would be worse if you stopped watching," the dark man bellowed._

 _'No….' he thought, eyebrows furrowed with frustration._

 _Adrien was causing her more pain, just as he wanted to avoid. But he just couldn't take watching this anymore… it was so unbearable. He kept trying to convince himself that this must be an illusion; This couldn't be real._

 _And yet, he couldn't even tell anymore. How much longer could he go before he broke?_

 _"Open your eyes Adrien."_

 _Something inside of the teen told him to obey the man. He didn't want to, but the very last thing he wanted to do now was hurt his friend any further, so he opened his eyes and gradually lifted his head._

 _Adrien gasped at the sight of Marinette, a hollow pit of dread sitting like a rock in his stomach. Her cheek was red with spots of purple bruising from being slapped, and the blood coming from her upper arm had begun to clot, appearing darker. Her leg continued to spout blood, increasing the size of the scarlet pool at her feet. Her entire body trembled, tears fell from her eyes and stained her chest and shoulders, her forehead was slick with sweat, a red line fell from the corner of her mouth, and her skin was ghostly pale. Adrien felt lost for breath._

 _How could he let this happen?_

 _How did they even get to this place?_

 _Why did this happen?_

 _Whywhywhywhywhy?_

 _Worst of all, the blurred shadow of a man was now standing beside Marinette's chair, gripping onto her hair to tip her head back and holding the bloody dagger right against her neck._

 _"N-No…" he breathed. "Don't…."_

 _The figure responded, "Answer my questions."_

 _Adrien could see the quivering of Marinette's lip, and a sigh escaped him. Forget about what he was feeling, forget about trying to escape, he shouldn't be worrying about that with what one of his best friend's was experiencing. At this point, he knew even death would be like mercy for her. There might not be any hope left for saving her, but if he just let Marinette die it would take her away from all of this torture._

 _She would be free…_

 _"Ch-Chat Noir?" he heard her mutter._

 _Adrien winced. Was she calling for help? She must be, and only he knew that there was no hope in doing so. Chat Noir was sitting right in front of her, unable to do anything._

 _He felt so weak. Another loud sob broke from him._

 _"Oh god… Chat Noir!"_

 _The figure pressed the blade into her neck, drawing a small amount of blood. Her blue eyes were swarmed with so much pain…_

 _So much pain, and it was all his fault…_

 _Just let her die, things would be better that way._

 _"Chat!"_

 _Why did her voice sound so clear? So close by._

 _"Chat Noir, wake up! You're dreaming!"_

 _'Dreaming?' Adrien realized. No, impossible. That couldn't be true, this felt too real._

 _Was this…. All a dream?_

 _He saw the shadowy man laugh as he sliced the dagger into Marinette's neck, and she shrieked in agony._

 _"Chat Noir! W-Wake up!"_

* * *

Adrien's eyes flew open in a panic and he drew in a sharp intake of air. His surroundings as he knew it suddenly melted away. The freezing room, the shadowy man, and Marinette. All of it was suddenly gone, the only thing left behind being the echoing of her screams in his ear.

He bolted upright, hand against his chest. Adrien's head flew around in a confused panic, his mind struggling to catch up with the present.

 _I was in that room where Marinette was being tortured! She was calling Chat Noir's name, and then he sliced her throat with a knife. And then… and then…_

He looked around. It was dark, tinted green from the power of his night vision.

 _My night vision…._

He looked down at himself. He wasn't dressed as Adrien anymore, but rather transformed as Chat Noir. He was loose, not restrained to a chair. His wrists weren't red from his blood, and he realized with a start that he wasn't cold. In fact, if anything he was rather hot.

This didn't make any sense. He felt so lost and confused.

He was supposed to be in a terribly cold room, tied up by his wrists and ankles and forced to watch his friend suffer. However, he was now suddenly in a warm and dark… bedroom?

"Ch-Chat…?" he heard a quiet, familiar voice.

The hero had to blink a few times to clear his vision, all the while attempting to clear his thoughts too. Why couldn't he remember anything before the room?

And then he saw her. Crouched a few feet in front of him, he saw Marinette staring at him with wide, concerned eyes.

 _She's… She's okay…_ Chat thought in disbelief.

Marinette had no wounds. She wasn't shivering from the cold, she had no broken fingers, and no blood was streaming out of her. If anything, she looked much more concerned about him.

"Are you okay?" she murmured, edging closer to him. "You were sobbing and muttering in your sleep, s-so I woke you up. What happened?"

He could barely believe what she said to him. It really was just a dream.

 _But… how? I saw, heard and felt everything!_ he thought, cupping a hand to his mouth when he felt moisture starting to build in his eyes again.

He remembered hearing her screams clearly.

The vision of the room was so clear and vivid, as if it were real.

He had felt the stinging pain of his wrists getting slit by rope.

The shadowy man, Marinette's torture, the freezing room. It was all a nightmare.

An illusion, just as he had wanted.

An illusion, that Adrien just then remembered, was caused by the curse. His Fatal Dreaming curse.

 _Of course..._

His memories came flooding back to him abruptly. Chat Noir suddenly remembered telling Ladybug about the curse on patrol, and then afterward he decided to go to Marinette's house. He spent some time with her making a dress, and then when he was about to leave she asked him to stay. She looked happy and wanted to be with him longer, so he stayed, and somehow drifted to sleep.

Marinette was safe.

Chat knew he had seen things he would never unsee. His dream, somehow, just felt so vivid. He could clearly see the man plunge a knife into Marinette's thigh, and hear her excruciating screams. He gripped a hand to his chest where his scar suddenly started stinging again at the thought of it.

 _It was fake, it was just a dream. It was just a dream and Marinette's okay._

 _She's okay…_

As the blonde uncontrollably started crying again, Marinette frowned and came closer to him, hesitantly putting a hand to his cheek and wiping a tear away with her thumb. Chat gripped her arms and pulled the girl into a tight hug almost naturally, holding her on his knees as she sat with him and let him cry.

She willingly let him sob into her, just as Ladybug had done earlier that night. Holding her in his arms was so comforting, especially after everything he had just seen, and yet it also left an ache in his heart.

The torture wasn't real, just as he had wanted. So why did he still feel so sad?

After many minutes, he needed to leave. As much as he felt overly relieved that Marinette was safe and free of any pain, being with her only made the flashbacks of his terrible memory worse. Eventually, he had no choice but to break the embrace and lift her trapdoor in preparation to leave.

"Y-You're leaving?" the teenage girl said with surprise. "It's the middle of the night… a-and you sh-"

"I need to go Marinette," he spoke softly to her. Chat had to force his voice not break as he said her name.

She slowly nodded with understanding, and he kissed her hand farewell as he jumped onto her roof and headed home. He barely felt relieved.

For the second time that night, the cat-like hero was vaulting over the streets of Paris. The rain had settled into a steady mist, and it was awfully quiet, leaving Chat to his own thoughts...

And memories.

He felt numb. The repeating vision of Marinette's torture playing in his head, over and over like a broken record that he wasn't able to stop. Every little detail was imprinted into his mind, like battle wounds that would never heal. Chat grew blind to all of his other senses as he rushed home, his mind hazy and far from reality.

He eventually made it to his tall bedroom window, and he silently crawled inside, his body trembling from either the cold of the rain, or the fear that still lingered. He gently shut his eyes as green light surrounded him, and he detransformed back into a civilian. Adrien slowly trudged towards his bed, and sat down quietly, letting out a shaky and tired sigh.

His kwami sat in the air in front of him, casting a worried gaze at his miraculous holder.

"Kid… are you alright?" Plagg asked hesitantly.

The blonde couldn't bring himself to answer. He didn't want to tell him. He didn't want to even think about his dream, he just wanted to pretend like it never happened. Act like it never happened and move on with his life.

But he couldn't, because in his dream, it did happen. It happened as if it were real life. Adrien witnessed things he knew he would never forget. And now, just like in his dream, he refused to answer questions he didn't know the answer to.

He stifled a sob for what felt like the hundredth time that night, and made almost no notice to Plagg softly hugging his tiny body against his shoulder.

The kwami's question repeated in his head.

Was he alright? He barely knew anymore

* * *

 **A/N:** ... I'm sorry?


	9. Chapter 9: Chasseur

**A/N:** I hope you'll all forgive me for Chapter 8 XD

For those of you who skipped the previous chapter, here's a brief summary of what went down: Adrien fell asleep at Mari's house and had an extremely gruesome dream about Marinette being tortured in front of him when he failed to answer questions regarding Ladybug. He was woken up by real world Marinette who was fretting over him and after briefly crying with her he went home and never wanted to think about it ever again.

It may just sound like a pointless violent chapter or an excuse for me to write torture, but it will come into play later in the story ;)

With that all said and done, we get back into a more typical "Ladybug and Chat Noir fight an akuma" routine in this chapter, and I made it rather long, so I hope you enjoy ^^

* * *

Three days.

Marinette sighed as she struggled to focus on her schoolwork. She stared down at the paper in front of her with simple math equations the class had been discussing, but she had found that recently it was harder to stay fully focused on the task at hand. Her mind was often focused on Chat Noir or Adrien; And this time not for swooning purposes.

It had been three whole days since the night that the black cat hero had arrived on her balcony, and frankly it would become a hard night to forget. She vividly remembered how in the middle of the night she was woken up by strange sounds. It didn't take her long to figure out what they were.

Mutters, sobs, gasps, and winces of pain. They were all coming from the hero as he lay deeply asleep on her bed beside her.

She was scared. Marinette knew about Chat's curse, and knew that it gave him nightmares, but after witnessing how clearly upset he was in his sleep and how much he began sobbing once she finally woke him up... Something about it had sparked something inside of the girl.

A sort of fixated determination to help him, even more than how she felt prior to that night. Even if she couldn't fully curse his ailments, the least she could do is provide a sort of therapy for him. Being with her seemed to help Chat relax, so maybe it would be good for him. It might help him get his mind off of his dreams. Unfortunately, before she had the chance to talk to him about it he had scrambled up and left in an instant, and she hadn't seen him since.

And then there was Adrien.

Just when Marinette had thought that her and the blonde haired boy had begun growing a deeper bond and that he might actually care for her, out of nowhere he had suddenly started avoiding her at all costs.

A frustrated grumble escaped her at the thought while she worked away slowly at the math paper.

After their baking day he had warmed up to her for a couple days, giving her a friendly hello every time he passed and even having a few nice conversations with her, once saying how much he would love to bake with her again. But coincidentally, subsequent to the day when Chat Noir told her about the curse and then came over at night, Adrien had been avoiding her ever since without a reason.

Marinette had made attempts to interact with him, but every time she was met with either a sad, silent glance at her before walking away, or he would just flat out ignore her presence. It made her so upset and frustrated. No matter what she said or tried, Adrien refused to speak with her.

 _Maybe I should talk to Alya or Nino about it. They might have answers..._

The voice of Ms. Bustier cut into her thoughts, "Marinette, is everything okay? Do you need any help?"

She looked up with a start to see the ginger haired teacher standing before her.

"N-No, I'm alright!" she quickly excused. "I was just thinking."

Her teacher nodded with a smile before moving on, just as Alya leaned over to her and whispered, "Seriously girl, you've seemed awfully distracted lately. Is everything okay?"

Marinette sighed.

"I'll tell you later..."

The day continued on as normal. The teenage girl finished up her class with Ms. Bustier, and wearily went on through two more classes before finally making it to lunch hour. She desperately now wanted to find Alya and Nino and tell them what was going on with Adrien, or ask them if they had any idea what was up.

Marinette stopped at her locker to grab her food, however just as she was going through it, she overheard the students in the main foyer begin to raise their voices, and Mr. Damocles' bellow came over the announcement speakers.

"Attention students, there is an akuma attack currently present! Please seek a safe shelter if at all possible!"

The blue haired girl grew an eager smirk. Time to take action!

She looked around cautiously at the locker room. All of the other students had already left, and there was a window she could use to get out and battle the villain.

 _Perfect!_

"Let's go Tikki!" Marinette cheered as her friendly kwami emerged from her purse. "Tikki, spots on!"

In a mere few moments, red and pink sparkles shrouded the girl's body and when they vanished she came out as the mighty hero and defender of Paris, Ladybug!

Yo-yo at the ready, Ladybug used the previously noticed window to sneak out of the school's locker room and take to the city rooftops, searching for the troublesome akuma.

With the advantage of having screens displaying the news for civilians across the majority of the city, the spotted heroine was able to quickly identify the villain's location and motive.

It was a young teenage boy by the name of Toby, known now as Chasseur. He trained at a special school in martial arts, but something caused him to trigger the akuma and he now had the appearance of a ninja, complete with a black suit, a dark purple Japanese-esque mask, and various weapons that he was using to torment the civilians, making them fight with others using karate moves.

Needless to say, Toby had become an interesting akumatized opponent but Ladybug figured he wouldn't be too much trouble to take down.

In a matter of 10 minutes she had successfully swung across Paris and was now face-to-face with the villainous boy. He was hurling shurikens and throwing knives her way that looked rather painful, but turned to purple dust when they hit her yo-yo. She spun it in a fast circle to deflect the attacks, until Chasseur realized that he was getting nowhere, and decided to make a run for it. Ladybug swiftly chased after him.

 _Where in Hawkmoth's name is Chat Noir?!_

The girl swiveled her head from side to side as she made chase to the villain, searching desperately for her partner. She was struggling without him, and it would be a lot harder to defeat Chasseur without his help. However, she also knew that in the situation that he was in she didn't have the ability to constantly rely on him anymore. Something involving his curse could be ailing him.

Ladybug began thinking of an alternative. _Maybe I should go retrieve the fox miraculous and get Rena Rouge's help?_ she debated.

Luckily, her struggle was quickly resolved when she saw a long silver baton suddenly strike out in Chasseur's path and cause him to trip, before it shrunk down and Chat Noir jumped over to his Lady's side.

"Greeting's Bugaboo," he chirped.

Smiling and ignoring his quip, she explained to him, "I think the akuma's in his karate belt. He's going to try and throw weapons at you, and you'll lose control of your actions if you get hit. Be careful to dodge them while we figure out a way to take him down."

Chat nodded and replied, "I'll follow your lead M'lady!"

The aggressive boy got to his feet, and he faced the duo across the rooftops. He drew his weapons, as did the heroes draw their defense, and the duel commenced.

Ladybug and Chat Noir swiftly spun their yo-yo and baton in unison, and as they blocked the incoming attacks the heroine finally got a chance to shift her gaze over to the boy beside her. Her blue eyes widened when she got a closer look at her friend.

"Chat Noir... y-you look awful!" she told him.

He sighed and responded, "Don't worry about me Ladybug. I haven't slept for a few days but I'll make it through this."

"A few _days?!_ "

Chasseur let out an annoyed growl and halted his attack, just as a glowing purple butterfly surrounded his eyes. He paused for a few moments, before he shouted at the heroes, "Stop making this so difficult! All I want is for the citizens of Paris to appreciate the art of karate, and fight to prove who's the strongest."

He threw out a hand angrily.

"Give me your miraculous or I'll make you! Otherwise, stay out of my way!"

Ladybug narrowed her eyes at the villain, and grunted as she hurled her yo-yo in an attempt to restrain him. Chasseur pulled out a small ball from his suit and threw it to the ground, causing a large cloud of smoke to appear. When it dissipated, the villain was gone.

"Typical ninja," she heard Chat mutter. "C'mon, let's get him!"

The cat-like hero prepared to chase after him but was stopped abruptly by Ladybug grabbing his tail.

She said to him, "Hold on Chaton... the akuma can wait, c-can we talk for a minute?"

Chat looked behind him at Ladybug hesitantly. It was hard to catch, but through his usual gaze she could see his eyes clouded with distress.

He questioned to her, "Are you sure Ladybug? He'll only keep causing trouble if we don't-"

"Please, I want to talk to you!" she pleaded desperately.

She knew this couldn't wait. The spotted heroine had to spill what thoughts were on her mind, and try to get answers out of Chat Noir. She knew he would try to deny it, but she knew almost better than him that he couldn't continue to face this alone. He had to come clean to her.

 _I have to try!_

"... Okay, what do you want to talk about?"

Ladybug took a moment to take a deep breath and latch her yo-yo to her waist, taking a step closer to him.

"Chat, you said you haven't slept in a few days," she reminded him.

Chat Noir grumbled and stole his gaze away from her, clearly displeased.

"I told you I could handle it on my own," he insisted.

She lifted a finger and scolded him, "Your face doesn't read "I can handle it!" You look horrible, and not sleeping for that long is awfully unhealthy. I get that you have this curse that gives you nightmares, but I know you didn't tell me everything."

Her partner was silent, refusing to make eye contact with her as his breaths shook and he held a hand against his chest. Ladybug shook her head, frustration building up inside of her. She wanted Chat Noir to talk! Why wouldn't he? Why wouldn't he tell her?

Unintentionally, and without proper thought, all of Ladybug's frustration and buzzing thoughts suddenly burst out of her and her voice did all of the work.

"All I know from you is that you got hit by some ancient magic by Lucid, which now causes you to have nightmares every time you fall asleep. Nightmares of what? What's so bad that you can't tell me?!" she ranted. "And every time I see you, you're always putting a hand against your chest! That makes me worried about you and leads me to believe that you're hurt, but you still don't tell me a word about it!"

"And, on top of all that, there have been two occasions now where you see things that aren't real and start freaking out over it! This must all have to do with the curse, but all you told me about it that one night was that you get nightmares that gives you anxiety, and you see them every time you sleep. What's so bad about this that you can't tell me more? Why don't I know everything? Don't you trust me?!"

Chat Noir was staring at Ladybug with wide, horrified green eyes. As she went on and on with frustration, she hadn't even realized how much she had been raising her voice to the point that she was nearly screaming at him and light tears were tingling her eyes.

The pigtailed girl turned away from him for a few moments, calming herself down and mentally smacking herself for how horrible of a friend she had been just now.

She expected Chat to be upset and leave, or wait for her to say something else, but to her surprise she felt his hand on her shoulder and his gentle voice from behind her.

"I'm sorry Ladybug. I never realized you were getting so worried about me, I-I should have told you everything from the beginning..."

Ladybug turned her head as he stepped up to her side.

"We don't have much time right now because we have to chase after Chasseur, so I can't give you all of the details quite yet. But I'll tell you this."

The hero turned his head to look at her. She could see the fatigue in his eyes.

"The reason I've gone days without sleeping is because... well, it's because I've become afraid of it," he confessed sadly.

"Chat Noir..."

"I can't stand the thought of sleeping anymore because I might see more of something I never want to see again," he expressed with misery. "I feel so genuinely afraid of it now that no matter how tired I'm getting and how sick I feel I just can't fall asleep. My body feels like it's tearing in half, with one side fighting to stay awake and getting sicker by the day, while the other is so exhausted it's screaming at me to get some rest. But I'm too scared! It's like torture Ladybug, you have no idea!"

Ladybug's sympathy for her partner was never stronger than in that moment. She felt as if all of the problems in the world, every ounce of sorrow that so many other people were going through, none of that mattered. All that mattered to her was Chat Noir. She felt selfish, but she couldn't help it.

Who cares if she was sad because Adrien didn't return her feelings. Who cares if there's people out there who are sick and weak, or suffering from anxiety like Chat was. As horrible as Ladybug felt for not caring about the rest of the world in those moments as she listened to him speak, this emphasized to her how much her friend was in dire need of help. How much he needed _her_ help.

And even more to her pleasure, he was finally starting to open up to her more. Maybe once she had more details, Ladybug could work with Chat to clear him of his ailments forever.

After a minute, she finally reached out and put her hand against his cheek. He turned his head to look at her with glossy eyes, and she gave him an encouraging smile.

"I know Chat. I don't have any idea what you're going through, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to stand by and watch. I want to help you get rid of this curse, I really do. We've saved Paris together countless times, I'm sure if we work together on this we can heal you."

A few moments passed before he smiled at her, and gave her a quiet "Thank you," before loudly yawning.

The two began to head in Chasseur's direction again slowly, but she still pressed questions onto him.

"Have you been to see Master Fu yet?" she asked.

"No, too busy," he told her softly.

"Does anyone else know about Fatal Dreaming?"

"Just you."

"What about your kwami, has he mentioned anything that could help?"

"He knows nothing," Chat stated with an irritated grumble. "I swear Ladybug, I've already tried everything! I don't have the answers!"

The heroine blinked a few times with surprise at his sudden outburst, before she reassured him, "I know Chaton... I just want to help."

He closed his eyes and deeply sighed.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just..." His voice faltered. "A few nights ago, I h-had this just... _terrible_ dream. I saw someone I really cared about getting hurt in front of me badly, a-and I couldn't do anything to help her. I felt so helpless..."

Ladybug practically felt her heart break at his despondency.

"Chaton..." she murmured.

"So now e-every time I try to sleep, or I drift too deeply into thought, all I can see is her. All I can see is her blood and all I can hear is her screams," he choked out with a hiccup. "It's so awful. I even have to completely avoid that friend now because whenever I see her all I can remember is that nightmare."

He lowered his head and lightly yawned again, growing drowsy.

"I feel so bad..."

Ladybug blinked with surprise, a sudden suspicion rising in her stomach. The thought made her feel lightly nauseous.

 _That sounds... awfully similar to my situation with Adrien._

 _Could he and Chat Noir be..._

She shook her head violently.

 _No, I'm not supposed to know that information. That's not important at all right now._

Encouraging herself to press that thought aside, she reassured him, "A-Anyway, I promise we'll get this sorted out eventually. You can't live with this curse forever."

"... You promise?" he repeated.

"I promise. Now let's go take down an akuma!"

Chat Noir smirked and nodded, and finally the two heroes picked up the pace into sprinting and began soaring across the rooftops again in search of the enemy. Based on the broadcasts they saw across the city, the akuma had done a good amount of damage, but nothing Ladybug couldn't fix!

She began slowing down after a few minutes when she suddenly realized that her companion wasn't at her side.

"Chat?"

The spotted girl looked behind her to see him a number of rooftops behind, slowly trudging along.

 _Uh oh..._

She threw her yo-yo and swung back to where he was, offering out an arm of support only for him to push it away.

"S-Sorry," he faltered. "I'm just g-getting kinda drowsy... I-I'll be fine..."

Ladybug sighed and supported some of his weight as his strength began ebbing. She knew he couldn't fight this. This was days of no sleep, and if he was starting to fall into that realm there was no bringing him back until after he drifted away.

Trying to do something to encourage wakefulness, she said to him, "It's going to be hard to fight crime with you like this, you know that right? In this state I'm surprised you can even manage as a civillian. But we've got to keep going, so just don't fall asleep."

"I... I'll make it work..." he huffed out with a chuckle.

She nodded and they carried on, but only lasted a few minutes before the black cat began losing more energy.

"Chaton? Come on now-"

"Sorry I-I just... suddenly have an urge... t-to sleep..." Chat muttered to her.

"Ch-Chat no!" Ladybug insisted. "If you fall asleep, you won't be able to help me defeat Chasseur!"

"Mmmm... you c'n handl'it... yer L'dybug..." he slurred.

"No! You'll have another nightmare, Chat wake up!" she cried.

"N'd te'sleep..."

With a final mutter, her partner was out. She set him down on the rooftop while light snores came from him.

"Oh man... what do I do?" she inquired.

Ladybug looked up to see the distressed citizens, and then down to her sleeping partner. He wasn't panicking yet, so right now he was sleeping peacefully. Knowing what she had to do, the heroine sighed and got to her feet, having no choice but to leave Chat behind for now as she went and defeated Chasseur.

"I'm sorry kitty, but you'll have to wait," she spoke to him, as if he could hear her. "Don't run away in your sleep, okay?"

She ran off in search of the akumatized villain, hoping desperately that it wouldn't take too long so she could get back to her cursed friend.

* * *

 _Chat rubbed his head wearily, running his fingers through his hair._

 _'Ughh... how long was I out?' he thought._

 _He looked around. His eyes widened when he realized he was in the same place as when he fell asleep... except he didn't have a nightmare!_

 _'How?! Could they have... stopped for some reason? Could the curse have stopped?!'_

 _Pushing that aside for now, Chat jumped to his feet and looked around. Everything was dead silent, like a wasteland. No citizens roamed the streets, and Ladybug and Chasseur were nowhere to be found. Something was off, he just knew it._

 _He bit down lightly on his lip as he looked around for any signs of life._

 _"Ladybug?" he called out cautiously._

 _A familiar voice perked up nearby._

 _"Chat Noir!"_

 _He spun around to the source of the call, expecting to see Ladybug, but instead his eyes widened as he saw Marinette shouting to him from a few rooftops away..._

 _Just as she hung for her life from the top of a building._

 _Panic lit up inside the hero like a flame._

 _She pleaded to him, "Chat! Help me, please!"_

 _The blonde took off running toward her at full speed. He had to save her!_

 _"Don't worry princess! You'll-"_

 _"Chaton!"_

 _Nearby, a second recognizable voice suddenly called him. Chat stopped and looked over, and a gasp escaped his lips when he saw Ladybug._

 _Ladybug was toe-to-toe in a duel with Chasseur, and he was winning! He could see the injuries on her body._

 _"Chat Noir, please!" Marinette shrieked._

 _He frantically looked back at his friend. She was down to one hand, gripping on to the top of the building and trying not to fall. Chat ran to go help her, when an ugly noise came from Ladybug's direction and he heard her scream. He swung his head back around and gaped with horror at the sight._

 _The heroine was on her knees now, panting heavily as the villain had impaled a katana through her stomach and blood poured from the wound._

 _Chat Noir let out a scream of horror, "_ Ladybug! _"_

 _Chasseur let out an evil cackle before disappearing, but the cat-like hero couldn't care less. Abandoning Marinette, he sprinted toward the roof his partner was sprawled on, possibly faster than he had ever ran before._

 _Marinette called for him again, "Ch-Chat Noir! Please, I can't hold on much longer!"_

 _He turned his head to her. She was staring at him with a glossy, pleading gaze._

 _"Ch-Ch-Chat..." he heard Ladybug rasp behind him._

 _He swung back around to her, as she bled profusely and reached out a hand to him in pain._

 _Chat Noir's breath shook as he felt completely and utterly torn. He could only choose to save one of them..._

 _'If I go to save Ladybug, Marinette will fall. But if I go rescue Marinette, I don't think Ladybug can last that long with such an awful wound...'_

 _He looked back and forth between the two pleading girls with panic._

 _'What do I do?!'_

 _"Chat Noir!" Marinette cried._

 _"Ch-Chaton, please..." Ladybug begged._

 _"Chat help! I-I need your help or I'll fall!"_

 _"Chat... I w-won't stay alive much longer..."_

 _"CHAT NOIR!"_

 _"CHAT NOIR!"_

 _The hero wanted to cover his ears and scream. Why did this have to be so hard?! If he let one of them die, he'd live with the guilt the rest of his life!_

 _Ladybug is the one person he cared about the most, so Chat debated saving her life, but then suddenly remembered his last dream. He couldn't save Marinette before... but he could now. He had a chance to keep her safe!_

 _'So what do I do?! I can't do this alone!' he thought desperately._

 _Save Ladybug and watch a dear friend of his fall to her death?_

 _Save Marinette and watch the love of his life bleed out from an impalement wound?_

 _'I can't choose!'_

 _Chat looked back and forth hectically, anxiety and the threat of tears rising in him._

 _Marinette or Ladybug?_

 _Ladybug or Marinette?_

 _He wanted to scream with frustration and panic. Why couldn't he choose?_

 _However, his frantic debating left him too late to make a choice. Chat heard a caterwauling scream and watched in horror as Marinette's grip broke free and she fell down and down until he heard the terrible sound of her lifeless body smashing against the concrete below._

 _"M-Marinette..." he shuddered._

 _Chat turned to look at Ladybug. She was laying there now, silent and very still. A feeling of dread hitting him hard like a punch to the stomach, he made his way over to his partner. He put a hand over his mouth to avoid throwing up when he got there, realizing he was too late._

 _Ladybug's body lay cold and dead, a large pool of her blood formed beneath her. Chat shuddered unbearably at the sight and heavy tears began to fall again. He fell to his knees beside her and cried. He cried because he couldn't save them._

 _Either of them._

 _Marinette was gone and Ladybug was dead._

 _Why?_

 _Why couldn't this just be another stupid dream?_

 _Chat shook his head anxiously and finally let a held back scream tear out of his throat._

 _If only he had been fast enough..._

* * *

A muffled voice was calling to him. If sounded familiar, so he tried to make it out more clearly.

"Cha... ir... ake up!"

Chat's ear twitched. Was that Ladybug? Impossible, he saw her die!

"Chat Noir, wake up!"

He hesitantly lifted his heavy eyelids and blinked a few times to adjust to the sudden light. A blur of red and black was hovering over him.

"Oh, thank goodness you're awake! Don't worry, you were only out for about 30 minutes."

"... out?" he repeated with confusion.

Chat felt a hand against his back, providing him with leverage as he sat himself up. After a few more blinks, the world began to become more clear.

"Yes, out," the girl's voice continued, "You fell asleep while we were going after Chasseur, but he's purified now, so I came back to wake you up."

The hero's eyes widened with realization and he looked beside him to see Ladybug supporting him with concerned eyes and a smile.

"Hey Chat, you with me?" she asked softly.

Chat Noir slowly nodded after a moment.

"I.. yeah, I think so. W-What happened?"

Ladybug helped him up as she explained to him, "You fell asleep while we were running after the akuma. I decided to take care of it while you were out, and now everything's okay. But I have to hurry, I only have 2 minutes left on my miraculous."

The cat-like hero felt extremely worn out and put a hand against his forehead. This seemed unreal.

"Chat?" Ladybug questioned him. "Are you okay?"

He sighed and abruptly turned to give his partner a hug. He didn't know if it was out of relief, comfort or sadness, but none the less he needed to embrace her.

Grateful to her, Ladybug hugged him back without asking any questions. After a few moments, Chat told her painfully, "It felt so real this time..."

"It's okay Chat," she gave him reassurance.

He shuddered and hugged onto her tighter, but at the sound of her beeping earrings had no choice but to let her go.

Ladybug cast him a gentle smile and said to him, "Go see Master Fu soon, okay?"

Chat Noir nodded to her, and she turned and ran off to detransform. As he was left to his own thoughts, the hero knew he needed to start getting this horrible curse in order.

If his nightmare felt so real, how long would it be until he couldn't identify the difference between dreams and reality?

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you so much for all of the favourites and follows so far! It makes me so happy, as does reading the reviews! Thank you to everyone who constantly sticks around to read more, I love you guys!


	10. Chapter 10: Futile Cure

**A/N:** Heads up, the next couple chapters will be a little shorter and less exciting, but please stick around! I promise it'll be worth it, and things will pick up soon ^.^

I'm so sorry that this chapter took so long! I started grade 11 earlier this month, which has been weighing me down with homework when I'm not busy with something else :/ Thank you so much for being patient! I can't promise when the next chapter will be, but I hope to get it out as soon as possible!

I appreciate all of my readers so much! Thank you for all of the favourites / follows / reviews! With that being said, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

The wood floor creaked beneath Adrien's shoes as he approached the door that Plagg had instructed him to. He found it hard to believe that this was Master Fu's spot. By the looks of it, this was just an every day ordinary shop that any normal person could own.

"You're sure this is the right place?" Adrien whispered to his kwami who perched on his shoulder.

He nodded with a huff. "Yes, I'm positive. Just go in."

Swallowing the uneasy lump in his throat, the blonde clutched the door handle. He hesitated.

 _What if Master Fu really can't help me?_ he thought apprehensively. _What if Ladybug's wrong and he really doesn't have the solution to this? I'll still be stuck at square one like I've been this whole time!_

"Adrien."

The teen turned his gaze to Plagg, who nodded to him and gave him a toothy smirk. "I know you're nervous, or got the jitters or whatever, but it'll be okay. Master Fu's a very wise man, and even if he can't cure you, I'm sure he'll at least be able to help in some way."

"Sometimes you've just got to trust others you don't really know, especially in dire situations. I've glad you've finally realized that you can't go at this alone and you need the help of others, but now that you've gotten to that point there's no reason to turn around and go running off again with your tail between your legs. If you want solutions, you've got to have courage. I know you can do it buddy!"

 _... Wow._

A sense of hope fluttered in his chest. Never once had he heard his kwami speak to him like that before, aside from a few minor times. Sure, Plagg could definitely be lazy, careless and mischievous 99% of the time, but when he spoke heart-to-heart with Adrien he showed a different side of him. Caring, sensible, firm and honest. It made him feel really good, and showed how much his small friend truly cared for his well-being.

He smiled.

"Thank you Plagg. I really appreciate that," Adrien told him gratefully.

He carefully opened the door, and edged his way into the room to see the short Chinese man sitting in the middle of the floor calmly, eyes shut. He looked as if he was meditating, only for him to look up and smile at the teenager that stood before him.

"Greetings Chat Noir," the Master said to him.

Adrien panicked for a split-second, wondering how he knew about his superhero identity, only to remember that this man was the one who gifted him with his Miraculous in the first place.

 _Duh._

He nodded to him and greeted, "Good afternoon M-Master Fu. I-I've come to you because... because I really need your help."

The grey haired man nodded solemnly and gestured for Adrien to take a seat. He obeyed, closing the door behind him and sitting on the floor before him while Plagg hovered beside his head. He gaped slightly when he spotted another small green creature that looked much like a kwami floating just aside from Master Fu, but he knew it wasn't the time to go off topic, so he kept his lips sealed.

He sighed dejectedly as the master recapped, "I am aware of what happened to you, Adrien. I saw the fight between you, Ladybug and Lucid. You've been cursed with Fatal Dreaming, am I correct?"

The blonde nodded.

"It reveals one's biggest fears as they sleep, making it seem as if they are living it, and creates a jagged indent where they were struck that kills them the more they dream. Hmm, quite ancient magic, from long before my time as a guardian," he reflected.

"Well then, I should start by saying that I am truly sorry. No one should have to go through dreams as horrible as that which you are seeing, especially a man as young as you. I do not know what the curse shows you, and you do not need to share if you do not wish to, but I'm sure it must be very heartbreaking."

He nodded again, fighting back the memories threatening to pounce on him and attack like a vicious feline.

Master Fu continued, "Now then, I suppose I should quickly address what you're here to ask me about: A cure."

Adrien looked at him, wide-eyed. He knew exactly why he had come here, maybe he really did know how to help!

"D-Do you know it?" he asked desperately.

The elder didn't hesitate to answer firmly.

"Yes. Yes I do."

Adrien's heart skipped a beat, and he wanted to squeal with joy and relief. Master Fu really did have the answers! He knew how to cure the curse!

 _But why didn't he tell me sooner?_ he wondered to himself. _Was he waiting for me to come to him? Whatever, I don't care! I'm going to be saved, thank god! I'm going to be free of this disaster!_

"You really know! You know how to cure me!" Adrien cried with ecstatic delight. "I-I can't believe this! Thank you Master Fu, thank y-"

"But... I cannot tell you what the remedy is. I'm sorry."

He felt his stomach drop with sudden anguish.

After all this... the initial battle, the scar, the bloody nightmares.

Master Fu couldn't tell him the solution?!

"... W-What? What do you mean? Why not?" he murmured in disbelief.

Adrien couldn't wrap his mind around it. For what absurd, irrational excuse could the Master _not_ tell him the cure to Fatal Dreaming?! He couldn't live with this for much longer, he had to know it!

He justified quietly, "If I told you the cure, it would not help in any way."

The teenage blonde could see the sorrowful guilt shining in his chestnut brown eyes.

No... it couldn't be true!

"What do you mean? Please Master Fu, please tell me! I'll keep it a secret if you want, I swear! I-I'll do anything!" Adrien now begged, building moisture tickling his eyes.

Master Fu repeated, "No. I cannot tell you what the cure is."

"Why can't you?!" he demanded. He didn't want to come off as angry to the man, and yet he could feel annoyance and utter sadness stabbing at him from the tenuous reasoning.

"You have the ability to help me, are you just going to leave me like this?"

"Kid c'mon, you've gotta listen to him!" Plagg insisted, flying up to his peripheral vision.

Sensing the tension, Master Fu gestured as well for Adrien to calm down. The teen looked back over at Plagg, who gently nodded for him to listen to the old man's reasoning. With a sigh, he obeyed, his eyebrows knitted into a frown.

The small green kwami that resembled a turtle brought over two teacups and a steaming teapot for the two men. Adrien blinked with surprise at how ancient and antique they looked. How old had Master Fu run this little shop?

"Imagine the scenario this way, Adrien," the Master replied as he poured the two of them golden-brown tea. "Imagine that Fatal Dreaming is a living creature that is now inhabiting your body, controlling what you sense when you fall asleep. What you see, hear, and feel is all being controlled by an evil being inside of you."

"The only way you can get it to leave is by acting a certain way. Do something specific, and it will grow annoyed with you and leave your body. However, it is a stubborn little creature. It will only leave you alone for good if _you_ are the one who acquires what to do and how to do it."

He handed a teacup to the blonde boy, who blinked at the grating explanation. Obviously the curse wasn't a living creature, but how could it determine if _he_ figured out the cure on his own or not?

"... What are you s-saying?"

Intensity poured into the old man's gaze.

"I'm saying that I may know the cure, but I am aware from past experiences that if I simply tell you how to fix the curse, it will do nothing. You won't gain proper understanding or use your own strength to repel your ailments, you will only be acting based off of the instruction that I gave you, which in this circumstance will not work at all. You have to find the way to solve this by yourself, understand?"

Master Fu sipped his tea, and Adrien exchanged a despondent look with his kwami. He understood now, but it didn't make him feel any better. He really did have to figure this out on his own...

"I... I think I understand," he murmured in reply. "So I have to find out how to heal myself without help?"

The Master hummed in thought.

"It is possible that maybe another can help you out, if they too do not already know the cure and are helping you search for a solution. Otherwise, you cannot have those with the knowledge to instruct you; You must guide your own path."

 _Someone else can help me?_

Adrien found himself suddenly smiling at the man's eloquence. Plagg wasn't lying, he was a very smart man, and did in fact make him feel better.

 _If I can get someone to help me who doesn't already know the cure, then that means... I don't have to hide everything from Ladybug anymore! I felt nervous before about spilling everything to her and making me become nothing more than a burden, but if she knows everything then she can help me think of the way to fix this! She can help me!_

The blonde teen gave a determined grin and nod, quickly drinking up the rest of his tea and placing it back down. The green kwami chuckled with amusement.

"I see you are suddenly more energized," he commented with a wise demeanor. "Come up with an idea?"

Plagg scoffed and exchanged a smirk with his Miraculous holder as he replied, "Nah, the kid just gets this way whenever he's pumped up. Something tells me he's gonna go running off to his precious little Ladybug for help."

Adrien giggled, giving his kwami a light poke and then gesturing for him to come over as he got to his feet.

"Enough Plagg, we should go."

He bowed politely to the elder man who remained seated before him.

"I'm going to do everything I can to find the cure, but I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you very much Master Fu."

He nodded to the teen, and hobbled to his feet slowly.

"It was my pleasure Adrien, and I do have faith that you will soon find a solution to your nightmares. Before you leave, please take this with you."

Master Fu approached a set of drawers with various antiques upon it that resembled Chinese culture. He opened one and lifted out a small and round bamboo box, before handing it to Adrien. He lifted the lid to see a large number of small yellow pellets inside.

"Pills?"

"Not just pills, but a very special medication," he instructed. "Take one before going to sleep, and there is a much higher chance that you will have a dreamless sleep. It was made to fight against various magic that involves dreaming, including the spell that Lucid struck you with."

The blonde boy grinned. Perfect, this would help him sleep normally again with a lower chance of having nightmares!

He beamed and said graciously, "Fantastic. Thank you so much sir! I won't forget how you've helped me!"

Adrien approached the exit, and grabbed the door handle. He turned his head back at the man and gave him and the kwami a light wave.

"Goodbye now, please don't be afraid to stop by again," claimed Master Fu.

"Goodbye!"

Box in hand and a newfound sense of hope, the tall boy left the room and made haste toward the building's exit, kinetic energy crackling in his joints.

Plagg poked his head out of his overshirt and inquired, "So, do you really think Ladybug will help you out? Are you gonna tell her everything that's happened and work with her to find a remedy?"

Adrien confidently nodded.

"Yes, I'm done hiding facts from her. She's going to know everything, and we'll work together to fix this disaster." He then smiled and gave his kwami a light pat on the head. "Of course, I'll always need help from my little buddy too!"

Plagg jokingly rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Yeah whatever, don't be getting all cheesy with me now."

* * *

Adrien kept his chin stiffly lifted before his dad's beady blue eyes. After an anxious Nathalie demanded to know his location and brought him home, he was forced to face his angry father who blamed him for running halfway across the city and missing his piano lesson.

"B-But father, I was attacked by the akuma!" he excused. "I lost control of my actions, and by the time he was defeated I found myself in a part of Paris I barely recognized."

That wasn't true. He and Ladybug both knew the entire city and it's outskirts like the back of their hands. After all, what else was he supposed to expect when leaping across rooftops as a superhero every other day for nearly a year?

Gabriel growled back, "Why didn't you alert me or Nathalie as soon as you knew you were lost?

Adrien had no choice but to continue bypassing the truth, hanging his head in fake shame.

"I was going to, but I thought it would be nice to explore an area of the city that I hadn't before. I walked for a little while, looked around a few really nice stores, met some fans, and then got in touch with Nathalie. I didn't do anything bad father, I swear!

His heart felt like it was pounding out of his chest as the eyes of his dad burned into him. He knew that it had been risky for him to go running off to Master Fu's, but all he needed was for him to buy the excuse, and then he'd be safe.

After what felt like an eternity, Gabriel finally let out an annoyed sigh and turned his head to the Gorilla that stood by.

"Take Adrien to his room. He will spend the evening there, so he can think about the mistakes that he has made today," he scowled. "We will hold his piano lesson tomorrow, after his fencing practice."

The blonde let out a small sigh of relief. His dad bought the story, and that was all he needed for now.

The Gorilla nodded, placing a large hand against his back and urging upstairs toward his bedroom. As Adrien passed by his father, he cast him an apologetic gaze, which was returned with his usual coldness. A twinge of sadness jerked at his chest.

If only his dad knew how little time he had left if he couldn't find a remedy. Would he be there for him then?

* * *

 **A/N:** What do you guys think the cure could be? Let me know your predictions! ;) More coming soon!


	11. Chapter 11: Ambitious Theory

**A/N:** *Pokes head out of the closet* ... Umm, hello!

So yeah, um, I'M REALLY SORRY! QwQ Honest to God, simply getting a new chapter release should not be taking me over 2 months, let alone one of the shortest chapters in the story. My October ended up getting very filled not just because I had very little free time, but I also took it upon myself to do an art challenge called Inktober and that took up the whole month as well. I've felt extremely guilty for neglecting this story, especially because of how many people I've seen endlessly praise me for it (THANK YOU SO MUCH BTW! 33), so even when I felt awful and told myself I need to keep writing, I somehow just never got the time. Most of November's been in quite the same fashion, where I was doing a musical for a week that took up basically all of my time, and then grade 11 homework has been an all time high for the past 2 weeks and dragged me into the dark abyss of exhaustion. EXCUSES ASIDE HOWEVER, I finally found the time to return to my writings and officially finish chapter 11! Like I said, it's a short one, and almost acts a little bit more like filler but also sets things up for next chapter (Which will be longer), so I hope you'll still enjoy it!

For those of you worried that I'll quit on this story before it's finished, don't worry, that won't happen. As you've now seen, there will be some periods of time when I can't upload a new chapter for a while, but I promise to keep this story going until the end! I'm too determined and excited about it to have it stop mid-story, that would just suck XD

Anyhow, thank you so much for bearing with me and continuing to support this fanfiction! I love you all, and now that I've gotten my life back on track, I hope you enjoy chapter 11 of Fatal Dreaming! 3

* * *

"I don't know if it's worth looking into this Marinette..."

"But Tikki... what if I'm right?"

"Mari-"

" _What if Adrien really_ ** _IS_** _Chat Noir?!_ "

Marinette was poised in her pink rolling chair in her bedroom, one leg folded over the other, fingers to chin with a determined curiosity. Displayed on her desktop screen was two references that she had gathered; A portrait of Adrien in a blue suit from one of his photo shoots (one of her personal favourite outfits of his), and next to it was a photo of her as Ladybug posing for a magazine cover with Chat Noir.

"Both tall, teenage blond guys," Marinette continued rambling to her kwami, "Adrien wears that silver ring on his right hand, and he runs off at a lot of the same times that I do when I need to transform! How did I never see this until now?"

Tikki flew in front of her bothered expression with a worried look of her own.

"He could just be running to safety like most of the other students, and a lot of teenage guys out there are tall and blonde. Please Marinette, this isn't something you should be looking into!" she pleaded. "Chat Noir's identity is supposed to remain a secret, just like yours. That's how it should be. Even if it was Adrien, I don't think he'd be very happy about someone discovering that he's Chat Noir..."

Marinette grumbled and rubbed her palms against her face with frustration at herself. "I know Tikki, I know! I want to slap myself out of it really badly, but just at how many similarities they both have I can't help but be curious!"

The kwami nodded to her. "I understand Marinette, however it's better to let it go. Just remember that they both have a lot of differences as well."

She thought for a few moments, holding the same position in the chair and tapping her chin.

 _I suppose Tikki does have a point there. Adrien's super classy, smart, handsome and calm, whereas Chat Noir is usually just a friendly dork who likes making puns and acts like an excited kitten. He feels kind of more like a brother to me sometimes, while Adrien is the guy of my dreams!_

 _I guess she's right, they really aren't the same._

 _..._

 _... Still, it would help ease my conscience if I knew for sure,_ the teen decided.

"Do you think it's safe to at least... m-maybe check in on Adrien, just to see if he has any of the same s-symptoms that Chat had? Y-Y'know... from the curse?"

Tikki sighed and shook her tiny head in defeat. "I really don't think this is a good idea Marinette, but I get it. While your mind's on it, you won't be able to think of anything else until it's cleared up. I'll let you go and check on Adrien, just for a few minutes."

The pigtailed girl smiled and gave her kwami a light pat. "Thank you so much Tikki, I'll feel a lot better after this. Now, spots on!"

In a flash of pink sparkles and light, Marinette once again transformed into Ladybug, her suit decorated with black spots as always. She sneaked out of her bedroom onto her balcony, before hurling her yo-yo and soaring over the streets in the direction of Adrien's home.

It would not have taken long to reach the Agreste mansion, as he lived rather close to her, however Ladybug was held up as a voice bellowed to her mid-roof jump.

"Woah! Is that the Ladybug gal that people've been talkin' about?"

Ladybug landed on the roof ahead of her with a slight skid, before angling her head down toward the street in the direction of the man's voice. She spotted a tall, bearded man wearing a vest and boots. He looked tough, like a lumberjack or maybe a construction worker, but he had a wide smile on his face and bright young eyes.

Despite his accent, she managed to still make out what he said, and she could deduce that he had just moved into Paris. She smiled, stood tall with her hands on her hips, and felt determined to give him a wonderful, warming welcome to the beautiful city.

"You must have just moved here, am I correct?" Ladybug confirmed.

He nodded twice, and spoke with great excitement.

"Yes, I am! Always wanted to live 'n Paris, and I've heard so many great things 'bout the heroes Ladybug and Chat Noir! I can't believe I really get to talk to ya!"

Ladybug felt warmed by this man's young spirit. She wanted to take advantage of her encounter with him, but also didn't want to stay and chat for long.

She told him, "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you sir! Paris is a most beautiful city, with many attractions and wonderful people. I could not ask for a better home, and as one of the citizens' greatest guardians, I welcome you!"

He couldn't respond; He merely displayed his gratitude by the wide, genuine smile he bore with glossy eyes.

"What's your name, sir?" she inquired.

"P-Paul," he answered shakily. "Paul Whittaker."

Ladybug prepared to throw her yo-yo again and move along, but before doing so she gave him a friendly wave and a wink.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Whittaker! Paris is truly wonderful, and I hope you enjoy your time here!"

Paul dipped his head to her politely as she took off.

"Thank you, dear Ladybug. Thank you so much," he replied.

The spotted heroine didn't know what the feeling was, but as she approached Adrien's mansion, she couldn't help but feel like she'd be seeing Paul Whittaker again.

* * *

With his soft bed beneath him as he sat, Adrien stared down at the single yellow pellet placed in his open palm. Plagg sat in silence on his shoulder, exchanging glances between it and him.

The blonde let out a tired sigh, and clutched his other hand against his chest. He could tell now that something was there, he could feel the strange, jagged black marks striking through his skin and progressively leaving more pain. It was like getting a paper cut, and not noticing the injury until you fuel the fire.

"Do you really think this will work Plagg?" Adrien murmured. "Don't get me wrong, I trust the master, but this curse seems so strong. This won't help to nullify it, only slow it down."

The kwami shrugged his small shoulders. "It's worth a shot buddy. Take the medicine, go to sleep, and you probably won't get a nightmare. You need some catching up on it before your fatigue gets too obvious anyway, and it'll help you get more time to find a cure."

Adrien smiled. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."

He lifted the pill to his mouth while Plagg flew to get him a glass of water. He swallowed it, and laid down on his bed with his companion.

The sun was low on the horizon now, bathing Adrien's room in bright shades of orange and red. He picked up on the occasional rumble of passing vehicles, accompanied by voices and chirps of civilians and birds. The distant sound of discussion between Nathalie and Adrien's father could be heard from a few rooms over, and he made out a few of the words.

 _"-kuma... but sir... secret so... understood..."_

Adrien knew that it was wrong to eavesdrop, but he still couldn't help but wonder what they were discussing.

He let out a gentle sigh, pushing the thoughts aside and focusing on a safe rest.

 _Things are going to get better, I know it. I'll come fully clean to Ladybug the next time I see her, the nightmares will slow down so I'll have more time to find a cure, and before I know it, I won't have to worry anymore!_ Adrien thought, trying to calmly reassure himself. _I'm sure everything will turn out okay._

 _It's not like things could get any worse, right?_

* * *

With a clunk beneath her feet, Ladybug landed down on a rooftop right across from the Agreste mansion, where Adrien could be seen sleeping in his room, causing her to smile.

Curiously, but also trying not to get too close and risk looking suspicious or waking him up, the heroine scanned his room and the boy himself in search of any further clues.

 _Dammit Marinette, you shouldn't be doing this! I shouldn't be looking deeper into who Chat is, let alone spying on Adrien Agreste! Hell, I'm practically stalking him!_

 _But there's so many clues, he really could be Chat Noir! I might've kissed Adrien before!_

 _No, this is all wrong. We're not supposed to know each others identities in the first place, and there's enough clues pointing to him not being Chat as well!_

 _Tall, blonde, kind, green eyes, ring..._

Ladybug felt completely and utterly torn as her thoughts raged on inside her head, practically at war with each other.

She sighed blissfully at the sight of Adrien. He even looked beautiful when he slept, as strands of his golden hair slipped down against his nose and his figure somehow remained completely perfect as he lay. She scanned her eyes across him, searching for any further indications of his possible hero life that he may be hiding.

At first nothing out of the ordinary caught Ladybug's eye, until she noticed Adrien's massive desktop screen in her field of vision, where she saw pictures brought up of... herself! So many different angles, occasions, and poses: All red with black spots.

She muttered with a light gasp, "Of course! Adrien's a huge fan of Ladybug! A-And Chat Noir l-l-loves... d-does that- c-c-could that m-mean... d-does h-h-he..."

Ladybug stumbled with her words despite not actually speaking to anyone, and her breathing got quicker at the realization that since Adrien has so many pictures of her on her computer, it could mean that he has feelings for her, which Chat Noir already confessed to owning.

 _Oh god, what if he really is Chat Noir?! W-What are you doing Ladybug, you're not supposed to know that information, even if he isn't!_

She swiftly ran her fingers through her dark blue hair and examined Adrien again. An abrupt realization struck her like a truck.

"Although..." the heroine muttered to herself, calming her sudden shock down. "I just remembered... h-he's sleeping. And quite peacefully too."

The words of the black cat hero rang in Ladybug's head, _"I can't stand the thought of sleeping anymore because I might see more of something I never want to see again. I feel so genuinely afraid of it now that no matter how tired I'm getting and how sick I feel I just can't fall asleep."_

She rambled to herself after letting out a sigh, "If Adrien's fast asleep, then there's no way he could be Chat Noir, right? Not after everything that he told me! Sure he's got some of the looks - the hair, the eyes, the ring - but that doesn't automatically make them the same person!"

Ladybug rubbed her eyes with two fingers and let out a groan, realizing with a sickening feeling what she was doing.

"Ugh, what's wrong with me? I'm not supposed to know Chat Noir's identity in the first place! I'm always the one telling _him_ that we can reveal ourselves, and yet _I'm_ the one going prancing around Paris curiously searching for the boy behind the mask!"

She cast one final gaze at Adrien through his window. The girl could feel her cheeks warm and her heart begin to flutter, he really was beautiful...

Ladybug's senses began to grow fuzzy, as she stared off into space and recalled the time that she danced with Adrien at Chloe's party. He had held her so close to him that day, with no hesitation or signs of discomfort. Just them and the music as they slowly rocked back and forth.

 _"This is really good! Your baking is as good as your dancing."_

A dreamy sigh escaped the heroine. No one in her life had ever made her feel such strong emotions the way that Adrien did, not even Chat Noir.

She was right, leaving her home for the sole, selfish purpose of delving into Chat Noir's true self was definitely not acceptable. Still, even though it could be considered as an invasion of personal space, Ladybug felt it was still worth it just to get to see Adrien sleeping from a distance.

The teen knew that she had fallen for him very badly, and she didn't care at all.

Finally, Ladybug turned her back to the Agreste mansion and threw her red and black spotted yo-yo, swinging off again over the bustling streets of Paris.

 _Chat Noir and I can't know each other's identities, and I'm supposed to be the one strengthening that rule the most,_ She thought to herself. _Still though... I can't help but wonder if Chat Noir and I will know each others true selves someday. Will we part ways? Will we be best friends? Hell, will we become a couple if Adrien never loves me back? It's hard to know at this point._

 _For all we know, we've already met before._

* * *

 **A/N:** I know, I know, the irony hurts like hell XD

Very hopeful that chapters will come more frequently now! (Maybe twice a month?) More coming soon


	12. Chapter 12: Distraught Gunshot

**A/N:** WOOT, I FINALLY FINISHED THIS! XD

I apologize for the wait, I was hoping to finish this chapter sooner than I did, but it turned out to be much longer than I was expecting and it's such an important chapter that I had to make it the best one yet! It clocked in at 7.2k words, which is the longest chapter I've ever written for anything and I feel proud! :') This is also the chapter that marks the halfway point for this fanfic, since I have 24 chapters planned. I honestly never thought I would make it this far!

I wanted to give a huge thank you for getting this story so far! I can't believe that many people have seen what I've written, and the kind words and feedback that I have received from you guys makes me happier than you could ever imagine! I love you guys so much, and I want to make this story an even better experience for you guys in the future! 333

Prepare for a **lot** of angst and emotions in this chapter, and even if it seems like a lot of this is just pointless action, next chapter will reveal how integral these events are. Also, there's a little bit of political/legal talk in this chapter, but please don't make a big deal out of it. I'd like to keep political talk as far away from Fatal Dreaming as possible!

I really hope you'll enjoy! Please leave a review afterward to let me know what you think!

* * *

 **WARNING:** This chapter includes:

\- Hallucinations

\- Gun violence

\- City destruction

\- Descriptive blood

\- Lots of whump and pain

* * *

Adrien stood in his bedroom, the sunrise filling it with a golden light and reflecting off of the mirror across from him. The green hoodie he threw on was unzipped at the top, separated across his chest as he gazed at the now large, crack-like darkness that swarmed his skin.

It had been one month since the day he had gone to find help from Master Fu, and since then his life had been so busy that he barely found the time to focus on his magical illness.

Hawkmoth had been very busy; Many new akumas appeared in a short time period, which also brought in two new heroes in the form of Carapace and Queen Bee. The most recent battle had Ladybug and Chat Noir against the villain himself, along with a new evil ally that held the long-lost peacock miraculous.

Now, Heroes Day had just been a few days ago, and Adrien's superhero life was settling back down. Of course, with all of his meetings with Ladybug he had ended up sitting with her after one of their fights and fully explaining everything involving Fatal Dreaming. He told her about the curse he got from Lucid's attack, how it gave him nightmares of his worst fear of her getting hurt or killed (He didn't mention his recurring dreams of Marinette), the scar that damaged his body and grew with each bad dream, and about the aid that Master Fu had given him. Thankfully, Ladybug didn't freak out too much and promised to him that she would help him out to the best of her ability until he was cured.

Adrien hadn't found his remedy yet, but he and his lady kept hope in their hearts.

As for the dreams themselves caused by Fatal Dreaming, the blonde took one of the Master's pills every time he slept, and often managed to get through the night without a horrible vision. Many nights when he would rest, expecting to see blood and terror minutes later, he would remain peaceful until the morning, and his scar would not grow or hurt. Other times, however, the medication did not always work and he would continue to see dark, gruesome, and terrifying nightmares of Ladybug and or Marinette getting hurt in some way, ranging from sacrificing their lives for his, to them dying and blaming him for not saving them, to a villain just straight up murdering them, and more.

In the 30 or so sleeps that he had had that month, despite having more peaceful dreams than tormenting nightmares thanks to the pills, he still had enough to see many more scenarios that he wished he never had, and the pain from the curse continued to grow. He was growing more worried of his father or Nathalie finding out about it, since he had been in more visible pain recently from his scar. It thankfully hadn't reached a point yet where the black marks would be visible to the public, but it had begun to spread down his arms, and had a constant soreness even when the nightmares weren't on his mind.

With everything that kept Adrien busy now out of the way, he figured it was the perfect time to expand his search and work with Ladybug to figure out what to do, before the situation got even worse than it already had.

Plagg's words rang in the blonde teen's head as he ran his fingers lightly over his cold chest and shuddered.

 _"You've been struck with a powerful curse Adrien. It's been given the name Fatal Dreaming, a magic spell that repeatedly causes a person to witness their worst fear every time they sleep. The result is usually either suicide or insanity, but either way it'll kill you if you don't find the cure."_

 _Focus Adrien,_ he thought to himself with a sigh. Today was supposedly just a normal day at school, and he wanted things to stay that way. He silently proposed to himself that in order to avoid any suspicions from his fellow peers, he'd do his best just to avoid very much interaction with others. It would just be too easy now for someone to figure out how not okay he was, and hey, he already felt like crud so taking the day slow and easy would be no problem for him.

He zipped up his casual sweater, grabbed the rest of his supplies as his kwami companion snarfed down breakfast camembert and flew into his pocket, and then he headed out to be driven to school. On the ride toward the building, he couldn't help but bring his mind to Marinette.

Ever since the night that he chose to visit her as Chat Noir and mistakenly found out that she had a crush on him, it was like it triggered something new inside of him. That very night, his nightmare had suddenly transformed from a vision of Ladybug fatally wounded, to him and _Marinette_ tied up in a freezing room while he sat and was forced to watch her get tortured, and it was still the absolute worst dream he had had the misery of sitting through.

It all escalated so quickly, and he hated it.

However, the real question that Adrien couldn't figure out is why Marinette suddenly began appearing in his dreams after that night. Sure, he knew that the curse displayed his worst fear to him, which would be the injury or death of Ladybug without him being able to help her. Did that mean that he suddenly had a big fear of Marinette bearing pain as well, and he just didn't know it yet?

 _Well, thinking back to the torture nightmare..._ he shuddered at the thought. God he hated remembering that night. _I reacted really strongly, basically the same as if Ladybug was in that situation. Sure, it's because Marinette's one of my closest friends and I would never want_ _ **anyone**_ _that I've ever met to bear that level of pain, but... seeing her in that state brought me pain too..._

Adrien dejectedly put a hand against his forehead, ignoring the stinging black mark on his chest and lightly groaning with frustration. Why could none of this just be simple?

He stepped out of the grey car once arriving to the school, and quickly made his way inside all while doing his best to avoid eye contact with anyone. He kept his head low, and almost considered throwing his hood over his head, before realizing that that would make him come off as visibly stranger than usual.

Adrien just wanted to get through the day, with as little drama or action as possible.

After a quick visit to his locker, the teenage boy decided to head straight to class in order to dodge any and all conversation. He felt - and quite frankly looked - nothing like his normal self, and he didn't want anyone to get suspicious of him. His close friends would especially be able to notice a strange twist in his behavior, so he ensured that he kept his gaze turned another way when he passed them.

The school day flew by in a murky haze. Nino questioned Adrien's behavior multiple times, but he always just shrugged it off as exhaustion from being overworked by his dad. He had to use the same lie against Alya, and even Marinette found the confidence to approach him and ask if everything was okay, without even stuttering. The blonde attempted explaining his excuse to her, but she observed the way that he seemed more physically drained than was healthy (caused by increasing pain and anxiety from the curse). Fighting back against the horrible memories that threatened to claw their way forward into Adrien's mind, he gave Marinette a smile and reassured her that he just needed more sleep and he would be okay.

She didn't seem convinced.

During the lunch period, he even experienced his first symptom of lucid dreaming after a long time of having it not affect him. He had another hallucination, just like the night Ladybug first found out about the curse.

 _At least I know that what I'm seeing isn't real now,_ he had thought with a sigh.

It was an image from a dream he had a couple weeks back, showing Ladybug pinned down by a shadowy man without a face, its strong grip locked tightly around her neck as she was choked out. The heroine sputtered and gasped and cried for Chat Noir, her partner sitting not five feet away from her, to save her, but he had been frozen in place and forced to watch the light die in her eyes.

Adrien tried not to visibly panic as he sat and tried to swallow what was left of his lunch while having to witness this, but as dark as he felt for admitting this, there was a piece of him that had begun to grow numb to these nightmares he experienced. In the midst of the dream, it would always feel so real that it was impossible to tell if he was awake or not, but in the aftermath it began to turn from obvious distress to silent pain.

Besides, after watching Ladybug and Marinette bleed out, get crushed, stabbed, shot, perish in an explosion, get electrocuted, fall from the top of a building, drown, get choked out, poisoned, hit by a car, and worst of all getting brutally tortured, he wasn't quite as sensitive to it as he had been before.

However, that didn't make the experience any less painful or traumatizing.

By the time their final class rolled around, Adrien felt just about ready to pass out. It felt like ever since the school day began, days of sleep had vanished from his energy supply, and the pain in his chest spiked at certain times to that which he had never experienced before.

He needed to work on finding a cure before his ailments got too out of hand, and he just wanted the day to be over.

"Alright everyone, settle down please!" Ms. Bustier began. "As you all may remember, just one week from today - that's next Friday - is our annual spring formal! We ask you all to dress up nicely for the evening, and to bring someone that you are close with as a date, unless you prefer your own company. It will be a very fun night!"

This news did bring a smile to Adrien's lips. In all of the sporadic events that had surrounded his life for the past month, he had completely forgotten about the school dance! He remembered the beautiful silver and blue dress that Marinette had been designing the night that he visited her as Chat Noir. He wondered how it was coming along, and how it would look on her.

 _Marinette..._

The blonde stole a glance behind him at the girls' desk. Seeing as how Alya and Nino were already giving each other goo-goo eyes and winking back and forth, he assumed that they had already made plans to go as dates together to the formal. As far as he knew, the dark haired girl sitting to the left hadn't asked anyone.

Adrien remembered back to Chloe's dance from a while back, when he invited her onto the dance floor (Well, it ended up more like _dragging_ her), and she danced quite well despite her usual nervousness. He would love to share a moment like that with her again.

 _Why am I suddenly getting these feelings when I'm with her?_ he thought as a familiar warmth surged through him, quite similar he found to how he felt when sharing a moment with Ladybug. _Maybe it's because I found out as Chat Noir that she has feelings for me, but either way I really want to spend more time with her._

He caught Marinette's eye, and they exchanged a friendly wave. He picked up on the blush that slightly tinted her freckled cheeks, and the nice, ruffled pink shirt that she wore.

 _She's awfully cute... I really should ask her to the-_

 ** _"St-Stop! Please, d-don't do this to her. She doesn't d-deserve it!" he cried, his voice croaking from the bitter cold. "I don't know the answer t-to any of your questions! I-I just don't know! Just stop!"_**

Like a switch that had suddenly been turned on, the curse wrapped itself around his senses again, like an unwanted present.

Adrien gasped, flashing images of torture and screaming suddenly flashing across his vision. He gritted his teeth to the point that he swore they would shatter, and he held his chest in agony with both fists clenching his shirt.

He swore he had no idea how a scream didn't escape him in those moments, but somehow he managed to hold it in as his eyes squeezed tightly shut. Adrien's memories took over once again; or rather, Fatal Dreaming took over again. All he could see was the terrible night once again, Marinette bound to a chair as he was forced to watch her experience unbearable pain because of his own mind playing tricks on him.

 ** _She whimpered, "S…. s-stop…."_**

"A-Adrien? Are you alright, what's wrong?!" he could barely make out Ms. Bustier's worried voice over the sound of the ringing in his ears.

His chest felt like it was on fire from the nightmarish memories agitating it, and through it all he could make out Plagg gripping onto his shirt from underneath his white coat and trembling violently.

 _I hope he can't feel this too... I would never want him to experience this feeling._

Adrien was panting now, trying to gain a sense of his surroundings once again through the flashbacks swamping his senses. He silently begged for someone to help him, for someone to just get up, come to him, and say-

"Don't worry Ms. Bustier, I think I know what's happening, and I can help him. He'll be okay, I promise."

That was Marinette's voice.

He felt a gentle hand press against his shoulder, before a second hand appeared underneath his opposite arm and tried to help him stand up.

 _Marinette is here. She's okay, she's safe, she's alive and not hurting._

Through the tears resting on the rims of his eyes, Adrien forced his eyes to open again. His vision was blurry, and he felt one drop slide down his cheek, but through it all he could make out dark pigtails and blue eyes watching him. As his nightmare of torture finally began to diminish from his senses, he made out Marinette's sweet voice again.

"Come on, let's go find somewhere to sit down and then we'll come back when you're better."

Lethargically, Adrien wobbled his way out of the classroom as he put a palm against his sweaty forehead and Marinette kept a hand tucked under his arm. He could feel the class' eyes on them, but he would think of an excuse to tell them all later. Right now, he had to focus on recovery.

Marinette spoke to him again, "Easy, deep breaths," as she brought him over to a bench down the hall from the class, and sat him down.

Adrien was still panting lightly, the aching of the scar on his chest still present, but not as bad as it had been just a minute earlier. His memories had stopped swamping him with agony once he got a grip of the fact that Marinette was okay, and now it was just quiet noises from surrounding classes, and the duo sat in silence.

After many minutes, the teenage boy finally turned his head to Marinette and murmured, "Thank you, I-I really appreciate you helping me out back there."

"Oh! I-It was nothing, really!" she quickly responded, cheeks turning flushed. "I just s-saw that you were... well, you were in a lot of pain for some reason, so I figured instead of h-having everyone stare at you while you got through it, I should t-take you out for a breath of fresh air or s-something, y'know?"

He nodded, eyes narrowed. "Yeah... i-it's pretty hard to explain, so I won't go into it right now."

Marinette glanced his way, attempting to catch his gaze when he kept his eyes forward.

 _I won't drag her into problems that are my own,_ he thought. _She doesn't know unless she asks me to t-_

"You can... tell me you know," she reasoned. "I'll believe what you tell me Adrien, a-and I'll keep it a secret if you'd like."

 _...ell her._

Adrien felt his heart begin pounding again, but this time it wasn't to do with the pain. Should he reveal the curse to her? It's not like she'd be able to put the pieces together that he was Chat Noir because of this, unless she was Ladybug. No, he could just excuse it as damage that he received from an akuma attack.

"...Well..."

He took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"Y'see, I... this sounds crazy, b-but... I actually... I've been cur-"

Adrien's words were suddenly cut off by a deafening **_'bang'_** , followed almost immediately by the sound of shattering glass and a girl shrieking. Startled gasps escaped him and Marinette at the sudden audible commotion. With instant wide-eyed readiness, they jumped up from the bench and ran over to the top of the school stairs.

The large circular window from the peak of the school had been completely shattered, causing glass to rain down, and two girls were together on the floor below. One was writhing as her arm oozed blood, while the other called for help.

Beside him, his pigtailed friend let out a shaky breath and whispered, "Oh my god..."

Adrien swallowed the lump in his throat, "Come on, we have to help them!"

He barely made it down the first step of the stairs, before he flinched at the sound of another loud blast and felt Marinette's intense grip on his arm. At his feet, just a few inches away from him, lay a gleaming purple bullet. His green eyes grew wide with terror, and looking upward he saw none other than an akumatized man on the roof of the school, wielding a dark purple gun that was pointed directly at him.

If he shot again, he could _kill_ Adrien right then and there!

Adrien and Marinette held onto each other's hands in a desperate attempt of comfort while stumbling backward and farther from the danger. The dreadful realization began to settle on their shoulders.

 _This man... he's been akumatized by Hawkmoth, but he's not like any other villain before. He has a gun, a_ _ **real**_ _handgun, and he_ _ **shot**_ _that girl! We could be in serious danger trying to defeat this guy!_

Pure terror crawled up his back at the thought of this akumatized man that he would have to _fight_ , and how he had the capability to hurt him, or worse, Ladybug, extremely badly.

 _Oh my fucking god..._

A loud announcement came over the speakers of the school, right as a teacher rushed over to the injured girl and helped usher her toward the main office to be treated.

 **"Attention all staff and students, there is a deadly akuma attacking the school! Please enter lockdown mode, and do not exit your classrooms for any reason. For any students in the hallways, return to your rooms as quickly and safely as possible! We will alert you when it is safe to come out."**

"We need to get back to Ms. Bustier's class now!" Marinette cried.

The two of them began sprinting back to their classroom, hand in hand. Adrien overheard the violent man jump down into the school, growling as he let another bullet loose. He flinched at the noise.

Once they got back to their room, Marinette sprinted over and desperately pulled and twisted on the doorknob. "It's no use, it's locked," she murmured with horror.

Adrien could hear her breathing start to pick up in a panic, which only increased at the sound of the villain's footsteps going up the stairwell and growling threats. He frantically tried to think of a way to help her calm down, just to do _something_ to ease her anxiety, but could only protectively hold her closer to him as his stress level began to rise as well.

"We're cornered Adrien, w-what do we do?"

He saw the dark man reach the top of the stairs, and his head swiveled around in search of something. They were the only students outside of a classroom, and all of the doors must've been locked by then.

"J-Just..." he racked his brain for a solution. "Just stay still back here and... and hope that he leaves us alone. I-I'm sure Ladybug will get here soon to rescue us."

Marinette gulped.

The two of them stood close to the corner, pressing their backs against the wall and gripping each other's arms, praying that the akumatized man would leave them alone.

Along with the dark purple gun in hand, he wore a red headband around his spiked up black hair, a purple leather jacket, and black pants and boots. He didn't look very deadly; not much like a villain at all, actually. However the look in his now purple eyes was cold, brooding, and dark. It was enough to cause a shiver to run down Adrien's spine.

"A-Adrien..." Marinette mumbled into his ear as he walked closer to them. "I recognize this man... I've s-seen him before, I remember speaking to him j-just a few weeks ago!"

"What?!"

"Yes, h-his name is Paul. I remember bumping into him j-just as he was moving into Paris..."

Boots clunking, the two teenagers were frozen in place as he walked to Ms. Bustier's door, tried to open it, before growling and stomping over to them. Marinette and Adrien held a strong grip together, trying not to shake and show their fear to Paul.

"What do you want from us? Why are you attacking us?" the blonde asked him.

Adrien kept his determined gaze as he held up his gun to them, and bellowed, "I'm Gunslinger, and I'm here fer the girl known as Chloe Bourgeois."

"And what do you want with Chloe?"

"I've just recently moved to Paris, and I ain't familiar with its laws yet," he explained coldly, keeping the weapon pointed their way. "I had the opportunity to meet th'mayor, but he caught me with a handgun 'round my waist. He got angry at me, threatening to arrest me for walking around with such a thing, however I'm used to traveling with one on hand.

"I've grown used t'keeping a weapon of self defense on me, especially 'cause my brother was badly attacked once after he wasn't able to defend 'imself. However now that I am in Paris, the mayor threatens to lock me up just 'cause I wanna keep myself safe! He knows nothin' of the danger that's out there, and I've got no reason to be treated any lesser just 'cause I wish to protect myself!"

This man, Gunslinger, roared in rage and held his handgun closer to the two of them. Marinette whimpered and gripped tighter onto Adrien's shirt, to the point that he thought it would rip. He kept his stance firm, determined to protect her.

"So you want to shoot Chloe Bourgeois to get back at the Mayor for threatening you?" he cleared up, keeping his eyes on the man.

Gunslinger growled angrily, "Yes! He needs tknow what I've experienced, and maybe then he'll let me hold onto this for defense. Now, where is she?"

He opened his mouth but no sound came out. Part of him hated the thought of betraying his longest friend and very possibly getting her horribly injured, or _killed_ , while another part of him couldn't stand telling him where Chloe was, but was terrified of getting shot himself.

Adrien was in some of the worst distress he'd ever felt, racking his brain for what to do, when suddenly Marinette stepped in front of him and closer to the akumatized man. With much bravery and a surprisingly calm tone of voice, she told him, "We don't know where Chloe is. You'll have to look elsewhere, but we ask that you do not shoot us."

Gunslinger chuckled coldly. "Believable story, but you won't trick me that easily." The colour drained from Marinette's face. She was frozen in place, both trying hard to stand up to him while also in a panic.

Shifting his gaze to the villain's gun, the notice struck Adrien in an instant, like a punch to the stomach.

His finger was sitting at the spot of the trigger, and the dark handgun was aimed right between her ribs as she kept strong eye contact with Paul.

 _He's going to shoot!_

 ** _"NO!"_** was all Adrien managed to yell out, as he clutched Marinette's arm and yanked her toward him right as the trigger was pulled.

She fell on top of his body as they collapsed to the floor, and Gunslinger began sprinting away and shooting more bullets in random directions; either out of fury, to cause a panic, or both.

Adrien was on his knees immediately, turning to his friend and desperately trying to search for any signs of blood or pain.

"M-Marinette, are you okay?! Are you hurt, d-did he hit you?" he pleaded, bringing a hand to her shoulder as she sat upright.

Much to his dismay, her bluebell eyes flashed with pain as she winced and held her arm. The bullet thankfully hadn't done much harm, and it lay on the ground beside them, however it had been fast enough to slice past Marinette's right arm, causing a deep cut that now ran a small rivulet of blood down her bare arm

Her breathing was shaky, but as Adrien fretted over her she put a hand to his shoulder, speaking quietly, "Don't worry, I-I'll be okay. Let's just focus on g-getting to safety."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, let's just go b-before he decides to c-come back."

 _She's so brave…_

The blonde nodded and assisted in getting Marinette to her feet. While holding her wound in pain, she began to run toward the stairs, and he followed as they swiftly made their way down to the bottom floor. As if having read each other's thoughts, they both ran toward the bathrooms.

Adrien turned to her one final time and frantically asked, "Are you sure you'll be okay? Your arm looks pretty bad..."

He could see red liquid staining her fingers covering the gash, and he couldn't come into the girls washroom to help her clean and bandage it up. As a male, that would just be... wrong, even in an emergency situation. At least, that's how he felt.

Much to his relief, Marinette gave him a gentle smile. The blonde could tell she was still distressed and hurting, but she kept herself together as she reassured him, "I'll be alright Adrien. Let's just hide and stay safe until the akuma's gone, okay? We'll meet back here afterward."

He smiled worriedly back at his friend, and gave her a nod before entering the empty washroom. Adrien had no idea why Ladybug had failed to show up yet, but at last he could fulfill his duties as Chat Noir.

The moment the door clicked (Accompanied by another gun bang), Plagg immediately flew out from Adrien's hoodie and met his eyes with horror and worry.

"Adrien! Thank god, are you okay?" the kwami cried, flying around him as if scanning for any injuries.

He felt warmth at how much Plagg cared for him, and gave him a light pat on the head, explaining to him, "I'm just fine buddy, thanks. It was actually Marinette who got a bit hurt, but I think she'll be alright. She's tough."

As another scream sounded from one of the classrooms, Adrien's eyes narrowed at the reminder of this dangerous situation.

"We've got a really violent akuma on our hands; one like I've never seen Hawkmoth send to us before," he told his cat-like companion. "He's named Gunslinger, and he has a _real_ handgun that he's already attacked people with. I don't know why Hawkmoth's sick, twisted mindset has escalated to actually hurting civilians so badly, but here we are."

Plagg gave a firm nod. "This guy definitely sounds like bad news, but I'm sure you and Ladybug can handle it. Just... please be careful, alright?"

"I will."

"Promise?"

Adrien smiled. "I promise I'll still be in one piece when I see you again, Plagg."

The kwami shrugged and said, "That's close enough for me. Let's take him down!"

With a final nod of determination, he threw out his fist and shouted, "Plagg, claws out!"

Neon green flashes and bolts shimmered around Adrien's body as he transformed into his hero persona, Chat Noir. Ears atop his head and baton in tow, he extended his hand clad in leather to throw open the door into the court of the school, prepared for a fight. Much to his pleasure, Ladybug had finally arrived, and was fighting Gunslinger in one-on-one close combat on the roof!

Chat Noir leaped up to the school's top and threw forward his weapon, attempting to knock the gun out of the villain's hand with his baton. However, Gunslinger jumped back before Chat made contact, and snarled at the two heroes, "Y'all think you can stop me from bringing chaos to this one school? Fine then, see if y'all can stop me from igniting chaos and pain across all of Paris! They'll see once and for all that their laws need t'change, _they all will!_ "

The dark man withdrew from the fight, beginning to leap from roof to roof across the city, firing bullets left and right as if he had an endless amount of them. So many sounds erupted in the hero's ears in such a short duration of time; screaming, glass breaking, multiple gun blasts, sirens and helicopters, it was all too much!

His enhanced hearing getting the worst of him, Chat Noir collapsed to his knees and pressed his palms to his ears, attempting to block out the torturous sounds. Gritting his teeth together, part of him almost purposely wanted to start thinking about his dreams, just to take his mind off of the agony in his ears.

"Chat Noir- Chat are you okay?!"

Ladybug's shout was barely audible over the noise of the city, however as Gunslinger made it farther away, his brief migraine finally began to dissipate. Chat let out a sigh of relief and lifted his palms from his ears, looking over for the first time at his lady to see her wide, worried eyes.

 _Crap, I can't do anything right today can I?_

He didn't know why, but Chat let out a light chuckle as he lifted himself to his feet again.

"S-Sorry Ladybug... yeah, I'm fine," he told her shakily.

The heroine didn't look convinced, but didn't dwell on it. The two of them held their immobile stances atop the school, watching as utter mayhem erupted across the closest streets of Paris.

Chat looked over to Ladybug, who now held one of her arms in a gentle grip. "What'll we do...?" he murmured to her.

"We get help," she answered almost immediately with narrowed eyes. "We can't defeat Gunslinger alone, especially with how big of a threat he is. I say we run and get Carapace's help. His shield is too durable to be broken, and should be able to hold back his bullets."

The cat hero smiled, "Good thinking M'lady! I'll try and keep the chaos at bay until you get back, but please be quick."

"I will," Ladybug said as the two of them began to run in opposite directions.

"And Chaton..." she added, looking back to face him again seriously. "Please stay safe."

Chat Noir twirled his baton and gave his companion a wink, promising the same thing that he did to Plagg, "I'll come out of this in one piece, don't worry!"

He only wished that he had been able to keep that promise, for both of them.

* * *

"LUCKY CHARM!"

Ladybug spun her magical yo-yo into the air, black and red sparkles flying out of it until they swirled together and transformed into a red and black spotted tensor bandage. It fell through the air into her grip, and she frowned at the sight of it.

"A... tensor bandage? These are used for first-aid, that must mean that someone's going to get hurt..." she murmured.

Carapace stood just in front of her and Chat Noir, blocking Gunslinger's shots as he tried to fire at them. "Well, d-do you see anything you c-could use it on?" the turtle hero asked frantically.

Ladybug quickly looked around, but Chat Noir could tell from her unfocused gaze that she wasn't able to see anything yet.

Chat looked up just as Paul began to run away again, and he took his partner's arm and helped her to her feet. He noticed her slight wince when her arm was moved.

"We can't focus on that right now, we've gotta chase after this guy before anyone else gets hurt!" he said.

"Obviously!" Ladybug snapped back, but he could tell it was more caused from terror and adrenaline than genuine anger.

As Chat Noir had waited for the two heroes to come and join him, he had taken charge of chasing down Gunslinger, helping any injured or trapped civilians along the way to get to safety. The city streets were in complete paranoia, innocents continuing to have the news spread to them of this deadly akuma and making haste for a safe space. Many buildings now had broken glass and cracked walls, a few unfortunate locations even caught fire, but luckily for him, the police explained to Chat that they were relying on the heroes to fight the villain for now while they took care of the city and it's citizens.

Adrenaline had begun to build in Chat Noir during his stand alone chase, kinetic energy crackling through his joints like a still pool of water struck with electricity. Once he had finally caught up with Gunslinger, it became a back and forth game of avoiding bullets, and chasing after him across the building-tops, until Ladybug and Carapace made it to his location.

Normally he would make his guesses as to how long he could go on, given the massive stamina he had exerted along with the blaring noise from the city. However, Chat's intense flowing energy blocked all of that out, and now all that mattered was that safety was found again.

"Come on, we can't let him get away!"

Ladybug's shout snapped him out of his thoughts, as he jumped to his feet and made a large leap to the rooftop just ahead of him.

Another ear piercing bang rang through the air as Chat Noir landed down on his paws. Ladybug and Carapace were already in pursuit of Gunslinger just a few feet ahead of him, and he gave chase as well. All three heroes just couldn't seem to catch up with the akumatized victim, while Carapace blocked any bullets that he tried to fire their way with his shield.

Shot after shot, Chat Noir flinched at the terribly loud bang that erupted from the gun before clanging against the indestructible shield. The villain leaped over to another wide roof, and the heroes followed with great haste, all while the streets grew empty as civilians found places to evacuate from Gunslinger.

Once a good distance ahead, the villain made a pause as a purple butterfly-like glow formed around his eyes and the three of them gained on him.

"Good, he's stopping!" Ladybug panted frantically. "I'll use my yo-yo to hold him in place. Carapace, you use your shield to hit Gunslinger's arm and make him drop the gun."

"Got it Ladybug!" the turtle hero replied.

The pigtailed girl glanced back as she got her yo-yo ready and said to Chat Noir, "Chat, once the gun is dropped, use your cataclysm to destroy it. We have to end this here and now!"

He nodded back to her. Chat could feel his heart pounding in his chest, adrenaline pumping intensely through his veins, blocking out any other minor wounds he may have picked up on the way.

"Go!" Ladybug shouted as the purple light dissipated from the akuma's eyes. The heroine and Carapace both shot forward, weapons at the ready to take the evil akuma down. Chat Noir smirked and confidently raised his hand into the air.

He began to activate his special power and shouted, "CATACL— "

 ** _BANG_**

Chat let out a yelp at the explosive sounds that resonated in the air, causing a loud ringing in his ears and he impulsively jumped to the side. He suddenly saw that the villain's gun was pointed at _him._

 _Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!_

Chat held his breath, anticipating a sudden agony to strike through his body from the bullet. However, he faintly heard the sound of the metal shell hitting the ground behind him, and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. No pain flowed through his body alongside the adrenaline, and past the ringing in his ears he knew that the bullet had hit the roof, meaning that it passed him by.

Ahead of him, Gunslinger ran off to the next rooftop, and with a frantic order to follow him, Ladybug and Carapace made haste without another look back. Chat Noir nodded and ran to catch up with them, energy continuing to surge powerfully through every inch of his body.

However, something felt a little off. The blond found himself faltering behind them, and his breaths came out as uncontrollably shaky. Was he that worn out already?

Chat reached the edge of the rooftop that they had been on, while the other three members of the chase were already quite a distance ahead of him on the next building. He bent his knees and put his hands against them for support, struggling to catch his breath.

 _Something's wrong..._

 _This isn't normal, w-what happened to me?_

As he let out another raspy breath, he shifted his head back behind him at where he had come from. The hero hadn't expected to see very much, however the colour red suddenly caught his eye and he felt as though his heart had sunk in his chest. A trail of fresh blood, that led right up to him. He hesitantly glanced down and found that his black suit was stained from waist to toe with a thick, dark red liquid, with the scent of copper suddenly attacking his senses.

Chat's knees then shuddered and gave out before he fell to the ground, panting heavily as panic began to set in and his powerful adrenaline finally faded.

 _I've been shot, holy shit he_ _ **shot**_ _me!_

He gently placed his hand on his side, inhaling sharply at the sudden agony that coursed through him like fire in his veins. The bullet had pierced his right side, even after he tried to dodge it. He just wasn't fast enough.

Chat Noir looked down at his hand, feeling like the world was spinning when he saw the scarlet dripping from his palm. He felt like everything was crashing down on him all at once, the pain and sheer panic of the fact that he had just been _shot._

He didn't know what to do, or how to stop this. And it hurt; _god_ it hurt so _bad!_

His vision began to swim and he could feel his senses numbing, taking all of his strength to simply look up and see Ladybug and Carapace on the other rooftop, unaware of what was happening. Chat winced and tried to get up, stopping when he felt a spark of hot pain rush abruptly through him. Somehow, it was getting _worse!_

"L-Ladybug..." he attempted to call out to her, but felt increasing anxiety when her head didn't turn his way, primarily focused on Gunslinger.

His wound felt too painful; no, worse than painful. It felt like every nerve along every inch of his body had been fried with acid, blinding his senses and scorching his bones. Chat's instincts made him want to scream, but as the agony increased and he doubled over against the hard rooftop into his own blood pool, all that emerged from his lips was a near silent whimper.

He just wanted it to end, hell he swore that _dying_ would be less painful than this.

As the blonde hero's blurry vision began to go dark, he found within himself a desperate final attempt to get Ladybug's attention. If anyone could help him, it was her.

He just had to call her.

Chat didn't know what happened next. All he could feel was the blinding fire that surged through his nerves, and the last thing he saw was the spotted heroine looking behind at him, bluebell eyes expanded with dread.

And the world went dark

* * *

 **A/N:** Phew that was a long one! Yes, I understand that you're probably pissed and sad and want to kill me, but putting that aside I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's by far the biggest one yet, and I put a lot of effort into it!

I also need to once again credit _Unlucky Chat Noir_ , who was amazing and helped me write the final scene of the chapter of Chat getting shot, and she also proof read the chapter for me and helped to make it a lot better! I don't give her the right amount of credit that she deserves!

Fatal Dreaming is halfway over, and I can't believe that! Please if you'd like, let me know what you've enjoyed the most so far and what you're hoping / predicting to see. I'd love to hear your thoughts! ^.^

The next chapter will hopefully arrive in early January. I hope you all have a fantastic holiday break! 3


	13. Chapter 13: Melancholy

**A/N:** Hey I'm finally back! Exam season at my high school has been keeping me extremely busy lately, but luckily I finally managed to finish this chapter! :D

So yeah, it's not early January like I was hoping, but hey it's still been less than a month! And this chapter ended up being _**way**_ longer than I was initially expecting, and as if chapter 12 wasn't long enough, this chapter's even LONGER! All of the big stuff happens right in the centre and at the end of the story, so I guess that's when I should be expecting the super extended chapters :3

I need to once again give a massive thank you for all of the comments and feedback! You all make me so happy, and give me the motivation needed to keep this story going! I feel such joy at seeing how so many people enjoy my writing, and that people can feel emotions and excitement out of it! I honestly never thought I would get this far, so thank you endlessly!

Please enjoy chapter 13 at long last! (Imma start throwing in some minor warnings at the start of chapters as well, for when they're needed. Tbh I should've been doing this since chapter 1, whoops)

* * *

 **Minor Warnings:**

\- Descriptive fire scene

\- Major character near-death

\- Panic attack

\- Long, emotional chapter. Prepare yourselves.

* * *

 _The heroine let out an aching grunt as she fell to the ground, to which her partner quickly paused his movement to take her arm and pull her to her feet again. She stumbled a bit, but ignored it and held her determination._

 _"Come on, we have to hurry!" he shouted over the roaring of the flames._

 _Ladybug nodded in return and continued to run alongside him. He kept a protective arm on her at all times, and didn't steal a single glance behind him, knowing that anything they had already passed by had been turned to ashes by now. They both looked at the setting around them with wide, terrified eyes. Chat Noir had known that situations like this, aside from being really frightening, would be agonizing, but god he was forcing himself to ignore a lot of pain. He felt ready to break; to splinter like the crumbling world around him._

 _His lady cried, "We'll never make it out in time!"_

 _Chat felt the same intense horror as she did, but for their safety he forced himself to push it away and focus on surviving._

 _"We just have to keep going, there has to be an exit close by!" he insisted._

 _The two heroes gasped as a large plank of flaming wood fell from above, crashing down a mere metre away from their position. The inhale then led to them both coughing violently from the plethora of smoke. Chat and Ladybug gripped each other's hands as if they refuse to ever let go, and they both wondered the same question: How much longer could they survive here?_

 _The fire was growing at a rapid rate, barely keeping a path open for them, and never had the blonde felt more thankful for a fireproof (albeit, still scorching hot) suit. It made him wish at a time like this they had any of their abilities left, but to their great misfortune, Lucky Charm and Cataclysm had already been spent, and now the two of them were cutting their remaining time very close. Up, down, and all around them were orange and yellow flames licking the air, so the only option left for Chat Noir and Ladybug was just to run, and pray that they made it out safely._

 _"You're sure th-that all of the civilians... m-made it out of here safely?" she wheezed, as they sprinted through together._

 _"Quite c-certain m'lady," he panted in reply. "We're the only two people left in this damn p-place, I can only hope that we get out of here with our lives."_

 _"And identities..." Ladybug muttered quietly._

 _Bitterly, the heroes paused to catch their breath again. Chat Noir could feel his lungs filling with smoke, threatening to cause permanent damage to his body, or even kill him. It was starting to cause him agony, somehow more than was already present on his burning skin._

 _Ladybug put her hands to her knees and let out a cough, which then led to a fit of hacking from the thick gas. As much as he wanted to do the same to expel what felt like acid in his chest, he forced himself to grab the heroine's arm and pull her further forward. They_ _ **had**_ _to keep going._

 _Chat Noir kept an iron grip on her and ran blindly through the wood, ashes, smoke, and fire. His senses began to go, his vision blurring into a splash of bright reds, oranges and yellows. His smell and taste were mostly gone, replaced with the dry, aching flavour of hot smoke that seemed to inflate his entire head now. The only sense still in tact was feeling, as the hero could feel the increasing cloudiness and pain of his lungs along with the struggle to absorb a breath. He continued to run through the flames, pleading to no one for fresh air and water._

 _God he just wanted water..._

 _"L-Ladybug," Chat rasped, squinting his eyes as he looked back at where he practically dragged her now.  
Her body was growing limp, eyelids fluttering and breaths rasping heavily. The cat-like hero knew she couldn't go on much longer, and swiftly scooped up her legs so that he carried her in a bridal style, before continuing to stumble along at his fastest speed. It felt like steel was strapped to his legs and weighing him down, but as a stubborn prisoner he would keep fighting until freedom knew his name._

 _Chat Noir's chest screamed for oxygen, as he began to be lacking in it. His skin felt like it was boiling now, his suit doing nothing to protect him anymore as the heat of the flames broke through and was damaging him right now, no doubt about that.  
It was like the building they were trapped in went on forever, it just never seemed to end._

 _Chat ran..._

 _Ladybug passed out in his arms._

 _Chat ran..._

 _He began having a coughing fit._

 _Chat ran..._

 _His pace slowed and he could feel his remaining energy slipping away._

 _Chat stumbled..._

 _All the hero wanted was water, he_ _ **begged**_ _for water and fresh air._

 _Chat limped..._

 _His skin was on fire, his lungs were filled with knives, his senses and energy were dissipating fast._

 _All he wanted was freedom..._

 _Chat Noir collapsed._

 _He collapsed and couldn't find any ounce of energy or will to stand again. Ladybug was just going to die wasn't she? Why did he feel like that's what was supposed to happen?_

 _'I don't want her to die...' he thought. 'Why do I think she's going to die?'_

 _Chat's eyelids fluttered._

 _'At least if she goes, I know that I'm going with her...'_

 _A cool breeze brushed his forehead, contrasting the boiling fever._

 _'Dying right here with my lady... with or without her mask, I love her...'_

 _Crunching of wood was heard and distant voices broke through, "We found them! They're here, they need medical attention!"_

 _'I love her...'_

 _..._

 _..._

 _Chat Noir expected his swimming vision to turn black, and his senses to vanish for good. And yet, as the delicious outside air broke through and many medics rushed to the scene to drag the bodies of the two heroes out from the burning building, he found himself awake through all of it._

 _Eyes shut with pain and exhaustion, but awake._

 _Alive._

 _Was Ladybug alive?_

 _'No, she can't be.'_

 _Chat's instincts continuously told him that she was dead, but he still needed to know._

 _He trained his remaining energy onto his hearing, listening carefully as the medics reported the status of the miraculous wielders to various other doctors and public figures. He could feel his dead-weight body being lifted onto a stretcher, and the oxygen mask wrapped around his jaw let him breathe in the most delicious air he had ever known._

 _"Chat Noir is in critical condition, and may come out of this situation with permanent damage to his skin or lungs. However, if he sees proper attention immediately, then we believe he will survive," he heard a woman report._

 _The cat-like hero wasn't able to manage processing the situation, or what was currently happening to him. He only listened for a health report on his dear partner. She needed to be okay._

 _He couldn't stand the thought of living without her._

 _A young man's voice caught his attention, "Ladybug is doing even worse than Chat Noir is, we hate to say. Her lungs are very filled with smoke and her skin is covered in many burns..."_

 _'Nonononononono...'_

 _"...However, she is alive. Knowing her strength, we hope with all of our hearts that she will pull through and continue to live a successful life."_

 _Chat Noir wanted to cry. Ladybug was alive._

 _No, that couldn't be right. Why didn't this feel right?_

 _'Ladybug survived. I was able to save her this time, and that's all that matters.'_

 _'As long as she is safe, then I am happy.'_

 _'Ladybug is alive...'_

 _'Alive...'_

* * *

...

... A noise.

Like a flicker of light in the darkness, something began to leak into the nothingness of unconsciousness. It put Adrien into a sort of lethargic trance, coaxing him to come closer. To latch onto the sound that he heard, and never let go. His being swam through black, slowly finding its own way to the source. To wakefulness. To the world.

 _"... beep... beep... beep..."_

He recognized the sound, a sort of repeated beep. It was the only thing he knew as he began to rouse from his sleep. It grew louder and more prominent as his body and mind finally awoke, and after a few moments he matched the sound to a title in his mind.

 _"Heart monitor..."_

Secondly, Adrien began to feel the soft warmth that enveloped him like a hug. He lay on his back, with a heavier weight against his chest, arms, torso and legs, but was not uncomfortable. It felt very mundane.

 _"Blankets... bed..."_

The third thing that caught the blonde's attention as he further woke was much less pleasant. He picked up on a throbbing ache from his right side, as if someone had jabbed him in the torso with a thumbtack and then he ran five miles. Somehow, this twinge was a recognizable feeling too.

The blonde heard the beeping pick up for a few moments from the heart monitor, before he parted his lips and took a deeper breath, and it slowed to a regular pace again. He vaguely remembered feelings of a tight, choking, painful feeling in his lungs at some point in time, but couldn't pinpoint anything.

Finally, Adrien attempted to open his eyes, which took a few minutes as even the dim light was enough to sting his vision. His eyelids kept forcing shut again. When he finally got them lifted and comfortable, he tried to shift his body. Everything felt heavy and uncomfortable, so his instinct was to sit still. He then scanned his surroundings.

Tile floor, small pale room with a second bed that lay empty, a window that displayed the sun setting over Paris.

Once his mind woke up enough, Adrien figured out what these factors meant.

 _Hospital. I'm in a recovery room._

Why was he in a hospital?

Adrien tried to lift his head, but a heavy weight seemed to engulf it and he let it fall back to the pillow beneath him. Realizing how stiff and sore his entire body seemed, he resolved to just use his eyes for now. What else could he see?

Near the top of the wall in front of him was a round clock, reading the time 7:18 PM. He couldn't remember what day it was.

To the left was a white door that led out of the room, and he could hear faint voices coming from the other side. Were they doctors? Visitors? Other patients?

Looking to his right where the heart monitor stood and beeped quite prominently, Adrien could see many tubes, needles and gadgets jutting out of his right arm, for obvious medical reasons. It made him shudder, so he turned away and attempted to ignore the fact that something serious had definitely happened to him.

He stopped to think and recall his memories. What had happened to him? Why did his body throb so damn badly?

 _I was at school trying to avoid people because I've grown unwell from Fatal Dreaming. That's right, and then I had a flashback and panicked in class until Marinette helped me out. We sat down on a bench and…. god, I remember being scared. What was it that happened after that? I…. I can't remember!_

"Oh, you are awake Adrien!"

A friendly voice snapped him out of his thoughts as a young, male nurse entered the room and closed the door behind him with a click.

He said to him, "I am very pleased to see you mostly alert this time, you woke up two times prior to this but didn't respond to any of the doctors and were still practically unconscious. My proper name is Nurse Calvin, but everyone here just calls me Cal."

Adrien nodded gently, trying not to move his head very much. He had zero recollection of waking up before then, but if he was already settled into this room and treated for whatever hurt him, and had woken up twice already, he must'be already been there for a while!

Calvin took a seat in a chair beside him and gently explained some details to him.

"Your doctor will be here in a few minutes to discuss some medical details with you, but will save the full rundown for when your body's blood supply has increased again. The girl who rescued you has been alerted of your wake at her request, and will be allowed to visit you when you are well enough. If you are able, Adrien, can you tell me how you are feeling?"

The blonde took a few moments to fully take in what the nurse had said to him, before parting his lips in an attempt to speak. They felt abnormally numb.

"I feel str'nge…" he murmured.

"How so?"

"Body 'urts, can't r'member everthin', 'm cnfused, head feels fuzzy."

Cal gave an understanding nod.

"Don't worry kid, you'll get all your memories back in due time. That and the head fuzziness are from the blood loss of your injury, you definitely got it bad. Your brain will function a little weaker than normal for a little while, but we're happy to say that you'll have a full recovery!"

Injury?

Blood loss?

He felt so confused.

Adrien asked him nervously, "Wh't…. What happened t'me?"

He hesitated this time in response, his head lowering slightly with a sorry expression. He replied, "I would tell you son, but it's something I don't know if you'd want to hear. You've still just woken up, and it could make you panic. I'm sorry, but it's your doctor who's going to determine when and what news you receive."

He sighed. It didn't surprise him, however it definitely confirmed his theory. Someone or something had injured him greatly during whatever the heck happened in the foggy parts of his memory, apparently bad enough to make him panic.

Adrien wished that he had someone that he knew here with him, like Nino or his father.It would bring him a great deal of comfort, one that a nurse that he had just met couldn't exactly bring.Hell, somehow even Plagg was nowhere to be found. What happened to his kwami while he was out?

"C'n I... ask more quest'ns?" he muttered weakly.

The nurse nodded with a smile.

"What day is it?"

"Saturday June 15th. You were brought here yesterday in the afternoon."

"Can I see m'father?"

"I'm afraid we can't allow any visitors until your body has recovered the amount of blood that it needs to function your brain properly. Not even family members."

"Why doesn't my inj'ry hurt?"

"We have you on very strong medication in order to ease the pain. It will last for a long time, however as soon as you feel it beginning to wear off you must alert a nurse or doctor immediately."

"H'w long will I hafta stay here?"

"For your wound, full recovery will take about 4-6 weeks. Your time here with us will depend on when you feel well enough to function and make some movements without the need for stronger painkillers or the help of the staff. The estimated time for your stay here is 1-2 weeks."

Adrien's head began to hurt at the abundance of information he was taking in, making him close his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. He felt his nurse pat his shoulder lightly, and say in a low voice, "Your doctor will be here in a little while to have a chat with you. Just rest until she gets here."

The blonde wanted to nod, but couldn't find any energy within himself right now so just hummed instead. He sat motionless in his hospital bed for an unknown amount of time. His eyes stayed shut as he absorbed the peaceful darkness, but the sounds from the halls outside his room and the distinct ticking of the clock was enough to keep him from falling back into a slumber. In fact, he didn't feel like sleeping right now.

He just wanted to know what happened to him. The confusion, fogginess and curiosity were all eating away at his mind.

Eventually, Adrien gently opened his eyes again. The room around him held the same dim lights as before, however the city was being overcome by darker shades of twilight, as he viewed through the window. The clock read 8:31 PM. Once again, he found himself growing desperate for company that he knew. A familiar face, voice, or touch would mean the world to him right now.

Before the loneliness could grow worse, a new figure at last approached his door from the outside, and gently opened it. A tall woman entered his room, her hair done short and wavy, and holding a clipboard. She walked over to the end of his bed with a friendly smile.

"Hello!" she greeted him.

"Hello, it's nice t'meet you," Adrien greeted back with his usual politeness.

"It's good to finally be speaking with you Mr. Agreste. You're quite the fighter!" she commented. "My name is Doctor Lily Harrison."

As she lifted up her papers to briefly read over them, the teen stole another glance to the beautiful view over the city. It helped to calm him down, giving him a feeling of tranquility.

Yes, he was badly wounded and apparently lost a crap ton of blood. But hey, he hadn't died!

He was alive, he would recover, and he would soon find out what happened to him and who brought him here.

Dr. Harrison set down her notes and sat down at the end of his bed, making it easy for the two of them to make eye contact.

She began explaining, "I'm aware of the condition you are in right now Adrien. I will save many of the details for when you are further recovered, as right now your brain can only take so much information. Please don't be alarmed by this, as far as we know there is no danger coming to harm you any further for the time being."

He nodded understandingly.

"Now, let's start off by telling me what you remember from before you were attacked."

Adrien gulped, and told her everything that he could, struggling urgently to remember the cloudy memories.

"I was at s-school y'sterday. The day was going normally, until I was in class and I had a- um..." he paused momentarily. He couldn't mention Fatal Dreaming to them. "A p-panic attack... i-in my class. A friend of mine, sh'elped me b-by taking me out of the classroom so I could calm d-down without emb'rrassing myself. I really appreciated it, and I remember u-us spending some time togeth'r before... well, something b-bad happened. I can't remember what it was, but I th-think there w'screaming... a-and breakin' glass. My friend and I w-were terrified of whatever it was, but..."

He let out a defeated sigh when his mind failed him. Doctor Harrison scribbled down some notes onto her clipboard. After a minute, she looked back up to him with a sorrow expression.

"Thank you for sharing that Adrien," she began. " I can tell you what happened to you during the time that you don't remember, however I'll need you to stay calm for me, since it may be quite alarming news. Can you do that for me, Adrien?

His curiosity piqued. He finally had the chance to figure out what happened to him, even if it would be scary to hear, or if is wasn't every single detail. He wanted to hear it anyway.

He nodded, so Lily gently spoke to him as she explained the situation.

"Well... the terror that you remember experiencing is because there was an akuma attack that hit your school. The villains name was Gunslinger, he's the one who has hurt you."

 _Gunslinger!_

The name almost immediately rang a bell in Adrien's head. She was right, he had met an akumatized man named Gunslinger, he vaguely remembered now.

"Us doctors don't know how it happened, but you ended up being found nearly a mile away from your school on the sidewalk, where a bullet had pierced you straight through your right side. You're lucky, however, that it didn't hit any vital organs, or this could've been a lot worse. Aside from one broken rib and an extensive amount of bleeding, we managed to patch your wound up and you'll be well again in due time."

The information he received made the teenager's eyes go wide with fear and disbelief. Had all of that really happened? Had that happened to _him_?!

 _The akuma…. being shot in the side…._ ** _Oh god….._**

The whole scenario suddenly began to form its way back into Adrien's head, although not fully clear; more like it was a dream. It was fuzzy, but is was _there_. It was there, and it was enough to send a chilling shiver of fear through his body.

Gunslinger attacked the school and hurt Marinette... before he chased after him as Chat Noir, and…... and it ended with him getting shot…. _Dammit_ why couldn't he see it clearly? He couldn't quite remember all of it, but he remembered the feeling of it all! The agony, the terror, the utter _helplessness_ he felt!

The blonde could hear the beeping of the monitor next to him begin to pick up pace, producing noise faster as he lifted a shaky hand to his mouth and his breathing came out in short, panicked breaths.

 _I could've died…. I literally got attacked and almost bled to death, oh my fucking god…._

"Adrien, hey… hey, I need you to calm down okay?" Lily said to him calmly. "Take a deep breath, calm your heart rate. You're completely safe now, nothing's going to harm you okay? You're alright, you're safe."

He did as he was told and attempted to calm down his thoughts with deep breaths, but could still practically feel his heart pounding out of his chest. He was so vulnerable, _god_ he just felt so scared and confused.

"D-Dr. Harrison... i-is he still out th-there? Was G-Gunslinger defeated?"

She hesitated before huffing and shaking her head.

"I'm afraid not," she responded. "No one knows exactly what happened because everyone except the police officers fled the streets, but there's rumours going around that something happened to Chat Noir, causing them to flee the scene."

 _Oh my god oh my god oh my god!_

Adrien had to breathe deeply to force his heart rate to calm down, but really he was still panicking heavily on the inside. Not only was such a dangerous akuma still on the loose, but he must've scared Ladybug so badly! If he really was bleeding as much as they said, she must've been terrified!

A great wave of guilt fell over him, but he had to remind himself who was to blame for all of this. Gunslinger, the akuma, Hawkmoth.

 _Hawkmoth._

He wanted to spit and hiss on that name. The knowledge of knowing how a single person had torn his entire life apart and made him feel constantly miserable, was enough to give him violent thoughts that he would never otherwise have. Heck, he never could've guessed how he held his composure in front of Hawkmoth when they met the last time.

"I'm sorry if I scared you hun," Lily apologized. "I'm going to leave you to rest now, alright? Try to get some sleep."

Adrien gave her a kind smile and nod. Thankfully, he was good at wearing masks, both literally and not.

 _I know Ladybug and the other heroes have the strength to stop Gunslinger! We'll only keep getting stronger, and someday, Hawkmoth will fall by our hands. If I make it out of Fatal Dreaming alive, I'll make sure of it!_

* * *

Three days passed by in a blur. Adrien now sat up in his hospital bed, feeling semi-recovered faster than he had been expecting. He had figured out some new things in this time: He regained his memories of the events of the fight, which had almost been enough to send him into another panic. He still didn't know who had brought him to the hospital, or everything that had happened while he was unconscious, but he had refrained from asking until Dr. Harrison was ready to tell him.

Another detail the blonde discovered that still remained shrouded in confusion, was that the day after his initial awakening, he discovered a bandage wrapped around his chest. However, it wasn't just a normal one, it was red and had black spots. It didn't take him long to remember that it was Ladybug's Lucky Charm!

Maybe it was the recovery process plaguing his proper thinking ability still, but Adrien wasn't able to put the pieces together on how it ended up with him. Did Ladybug have to unzip his superhero suit to put it on? If so, why didn't she put it on the spot where he had been shot, in order to stop the bleeding? Why was it around his chest, and why hadn't the doctors removed it?

As he sat in his bed and racked his brain for more ideas, Doctor Harrison entered the room with some written notes and a friendly smile.

"Good morning Adrien," she greeted. "It's great to see you're doing well. All of the doctors are shocked by how fast you are recovering, but we are happy for you."

The teen smiled, glad to see his kind doctor and hoping to get some extra information from her if possible.

She asked him while reaching for her pen, "Tell me how you're feeling right now."

"A lot better than before. A little woozy still, still kinda lightheaded but definitely thinking and remembering a lot clearer. The spot where I was shot still hurts a bit, but the rest of my body doesn't ache very much anymore," he explained slowly to his medic.

Lily nodded with satisfaction as she jotted down notes.

"Very good!" she eventually replied. "I am also happy to let you know that since you're recovering much faster than expected, you are open for having visitors starting today. The girl who delivered you to us requested to be alerted as soon as possible when she would be allowed to see you, so she is on her way here right now."

Adrien's eyebrows lifted with surprise. He already had someone coming to see him, and it was the girl who brought him to the hospital! What if it was Ladybug? What if she found out his identity in the attack?

 _God, I hope not._

He hesitantly asked his doctor, "If I may ask, Dr. Harrison... who is the girl who brought me here? Could you tell me more about what happened while I was asleep?"

There was a pause. She bit her lip lightly and cast her gaze to the side, as if thinking deeply or debating to herself. Adrien kept a pleading gaze, but wouldn't ask again if he was denied. His hunger to figure out _everything_ that happened to him was starting to drive him nuts!

After a few minutes, the doctor sighed, and gave him a nod.

"Alright... if that's what you'd truly like, then I'll tell you everything," she concluded.

This produced a thankful smile from him, as she once again lifted her clipboard to her face. A flutter of butterflies began to swarm in Adrien's gut, but he tried to repress the feelings. He had been really wounded, but beyond that there could have been even worse things that took place. What if something happened while he was out involving Ladybug? What if the akuma had attacked again and hurt, or even killed, more civilians?

He was very curious, sure, but that didn't make him any less nervous to learn the truth.

Lily explained, "I have a lot of information to give you Adrien, but I understand that you may still be experiencing some foggy sensations in your head at the moment. Please tell me if it is too much information and I must stop, okay?"

He nodded.

"I'll share with you everything I know from when you were asleep, and if there's any part of this that you wouldn't like to hear, please tell me now.

Adrien managed to lift his hand up and give her a thumbs up, along with a shaky smile. She wasn't wrong about any of the medical details, he was certainly _not_ in his prime and still had some lightheadedness. However he was determined to know what had happened in his time in the dark.

After another minute of him waiting patiently, Dr. Harrison gazed down at the clipboard of notes that was in her grip, and began relaying the news to him.

"Adrien Agreste, on the date of Friday June 14th, four days ago, you received a near-fatal wound from the terrible akumatized victim named Gunslinger. He shot a handgun at you, sending a bullet through the right side of your body just below your ribs. You received a significant amount of blood loss, a broken rib, and of course a large hole of damage to your body, however no organs were struck. You are expected to have a safe and healthy recovery."

He slowly nodded, inhaling a shaky breath. It felt hard to believe that it had already been four days since he fought the akuma with Ladybug, as it still replayed in his mind as if it just happened.

Dr. Harrison flipped another sheet of paper up on her clipboard.

"You lost nearly twenty-five percent of your body's blood supply in the attack, almost enough to be considered lethal. You're extremely lucky that you didn't fall into hypovolemic shock, or the situation would have been much worse. Your friend Marinette was extremely relieved to hear that you will recover."

Those words caught Adrien's attention, and his eyes grew wide. "M… Marinette?" he repeated.

 _Was she the one who...?_

She nodded in reply, "Yes, she was the one who found you and brought you to the hospital. She was extremely emotional when delivering you, which is why she requested to see you as soon as possible."

Adrien found himself doing a double-take. Somehow, it wasn't Ladybug who delivered him to safety, let alone some other random stranger or police officer. It was _her_ …. a dear friend of his, who must've been so terrified for his safety. He felt awful.

 _I mean… unless Ladybug really did find me, and... and Marinette is La-_

"On a less relevant note," Lily continued, interrupting his thoughts. "Marinette reported to Calvin that when she found you, you had the Lucky Charm from Ladybug wrapped around your chest, overtop of another wound. While we would normally treat the wound ourselves as doctors, she emphasized that it was a minor wound that would heal fine. The doctors who treated you all agreed that we have faith in Ladybug's abilities, and we hope that maybe keeping her charm with you may give you an extra stroke of luck."

His doctor looked up at him and smiled.

"Seeing as how successfully you've recovered so far, it's entirely possible that it is aiding you."

 _What?_

 _Wait… what?!_

His eyes blinked wide with near shock at finding out that information.

Adrien didn't care about the ache throughout his body now. He brought up his left hand to lift the top hole of his hospital clothes, and looked again at her red and black spotted tensor bandage wrapped around his chest, eyes wide.

 _Marinette found me with this already on me... and it's covering up another wound?!_

 _Wait, not a wound..._

How the hell had he not remembered before?! Was he that delusional?

With a closer look at how the bandage was aligned on his body, and a friendly reminder from his mind that he was still cursed by dark magic.

 _The lucky charm is... covering all of the black marks!_

 _Of course, Ladybug knows about the curse!_

He blinked, taking another breath.

 _But… tensor bandages don't heal chest wounds, they're f-for bruises and sprains…_

 _Which means she put it there on purpose to cover it up. She must've!_

Slowly, his hand was brought against his mouth in shock. His lips quivered and moisture threatened to build in his eyes.

 _Oh my god…._

 _Nononononono!_

 _Th-this can't be happening to me!_

Despite his slower ability to process information due to lack of blood volume, he still managed to put the pieces together from the information he was given.

 _As far as I can remember, I didn't get any injuries on my chest. The only thing on my chest is the curse scar, and other than me and Plagg, the only one who knows about it is Ladybug, and maybe her kwami._

 _I was passed out for over a day, and anything could've happened in that time before I got to the hospital. Unless sh-she used the bandage to cover the scar on my chest while I was still Chat Noir, she would've done it after I…_

Adrien heard the heart monitor begin beeping louder again.

 _Detransformed…_

Dr. Harrison leaned forward put her hand on his shoulder gently, a concerned expression upon her face.

"Please Adrien, I know it's a lot to comprehend at the moment, but it would be much better if you kept calm. Don't fall into shock, take deep breaths."

No. Not now, he couldn't stay calm right now.

He was panicking.

 _Ladybug…. she probably knows my identity. Oh my god, she knows that I'm Adrien! What if she hates me now? Will she still want to work with me?_

Tears began to fall from his eyes. He couldn't bear the thought of losing the most treasured person in his life.

"Adrien, it's okay hun. Take deep breaths, don't panic! Drink some water," the doctor continued to insist, trying to calm down his heart rate from the information he was currently comprehending.

She held a plastic cup of water to his lips, and he obeyed and took a few small gulps. It felt good, but it didn't ease him in any way.

Unless things somehow worked themselves out, then Ladybug knew the truth. She knew that he was Chat Noir, also known as Adrien Agreste.

 _But then there's the fact that Marinette found me already patched up, but if I was bleeding to death then there's no way Ladybug would've just left me! She wouldn't leave me to die, would she? W-What if she was angry about….._

 _….. No, she would never do that!_

If Ladybug patched Adrien up and took him to the hospital, but Marinette was the one that arrived there, and knew that his chest was "injured" and covered up by the Lucky Charm, could that mean….

 _Is… is Ladybug-_

"Marinette."

Adrien was snapped back to reality immediately at the sound of Lily saying her name. His heart rate was still going fast and tears still falling down his face, but finally seeing her blue, sympathetic gaze looking at him from the doorway helped him to somewhat calm down.

"I apologize for how abrupt this is, Adrien is still in rough condition, and has just received a lot of information at one time," the doctor explained. "I will just need a few more minutes, and then you may have some time with him while he recovers."

His friend nodded gently. "O-Of course doctor."

 _Marinette..._

She was here, the friend that rescued him from death. Finally he could speak to someone that he knew on a personally level, someone who he cared about and could shed some more light on what happened.

He just felt so damn happy to see her, even if she truly was Ladybug.

The girl took a seat in the corner of the room, averting her gaze from Adrien's, not even taking the chance to smile or wave at him. It concerned him, like a heavy rock sitting in his stomach. Was something wrong? Well, something other than a good friend- no, _crush_ of hers getting shot in an akuma attack.

Her expression; no, her entire _being_ looked so… grey.

Her normally bright cheeks were abnormally pale, a hollow gaze and quivering lip read many emotions that Adrien could barely understand right now. Was she angry? Depressed? Confused? Frantic?

"Listen to me Adrien, I understand that I told you a lot. We must calm your heart rate, please look at me."

The blonde followed her instructions, shoving aside all of his thoughts, questions, curiosities, and, worst of all, both fuzzy and prominent memories attempting not to blend together or become lost. His mind was quite literally a formula for disaster in this state, and he was surprised he hadn't gone into shock or passed out or something along those lines.

Adrien took deep breaths as Dr. Harrison instructed him, drank the water she gave, and stayed in the position that she set him in so he could be comfortable while remaining sitting up. She gave him final words and instructions for him to follow: Now that she had reported his injuries and the vast majority of the scenario to him, his job was to rest and recover. They would let him have a maximum of four visitors a day for the first week, for a total visiting time of half an hour. They would bring in his father later that evening when he was off from work, and assign Adrien all of the needed medication and health products he would need, but until that time she just wanted him to sleep, drink water, refrain from talking or moving too much, and eat when they brought him food.

He thanked her greatly for healing him, and explained to his doctor how he would take the time to take in all of the information she had just given him. He knew that sleeping a lot would be his very best option while in recovery, however the thought made him nervous. Without the help of the special pills Master Fu granted him, Adrien was expecting to be cursed with a nightmare every time he fell asleep, no matter what. However, throughout the few nights that he had spent at the hospital, he had only had a nightmare once. For the first time since he got the curse, he remembered actually succeeding in saving Ladybug in that dream. However, every sleep since then had been dreamless. He wondered why.

Nonetheless, Dr. Harrison gave him one last smile and nod before claiming she would return to check up on him that evening, and closed the door behind her as she left.

It was just Adrien and Marinette now. The silence was agonizing for both of them.

The two of them just stared. Both pale-faced, gloomy expressions, and he could tell just by the way she watched him that she had something to say. But what?

 _If I'm going to ask Marinette what happened from her point of view, then it's now or never. I need to know if she….. i-if the one behind the mask is really her…._

"Marinette," Adrien finally began in a low voice. "Th-There's something important I need t-to ask you."

He could hear the pigtailed girl's breath hitch, and she rubbed and eye with one hand with a motion as if she were wiping away a tear. She lifted up her other hand in a pausing motion, silencing him before he could ask his question. Without words, she slowly stood up from her chair and shuffled over to his hospital bed, taking a seat at the end. She once again kept her gaze away from his, and her entire body trembled with anticipation.

Marinette spoke out with a shake in her tone, "I-I know what you're trying t-to ask…. Adrien. It m-might be better if you….. if you j-just…."

A single tear slid down her cheek, and at last, she lifted her eyes and made direct eye contact with him. Her powerful bluebell eyes made direct contact with his sharp green ones.

"If you just s-saw for yourself," she finished.

The blonde didn't know what she meant by that, but simply the sight of her silently crying right before his eyes was enough to weigh a cloud of emotions down onto his already aching body.

Slowly, and with a tremble, Marinette reached around to the side of her that faced away from Adrien, and removed her shoulder purse from where it hung from her left shoulder, bringing it around to sit on her lap. Her fingers latched onto the clip at the top, and she hesitated, letting out another whimper as a second tear fell down her face.

Adrien felt something snap inside of him, like a mental punch in the gut. He couldn't just sit here and say nothing at all when she was so obviously upset, so with little to no thought and merely wanting to help her feel better, he blurted out, "Marinette, p-please don't cry!"

She averted her gaze from the pink purse that sat on her thighs, to look at Adrien. Her eyes were like stone.

"Why should I not, Adrien?" she responded, almost coldly as the despair oozed so clearly from her tone. It was enough to make his own eyes build moisture. "Why should I not cry when my entire world has fallen apart? I feel so broken, and it's my own fault. Just please… please let me get the worst of it out of the way. Then it's all up to you… whether you want to love me, help me, hate me, or just block me out…. I won't blame you for your decision."

He was astonished. What the hell was she talking about?! How had her entire world broken apart? Why did she blame herself?

"W-What are you talking about M-Marinette?!"

He had so many questions!

"Just…. Just sh-shut up and look!" she yelled.

Marinette yanked open the top of her bag, before almost instantly cupping her face in her hands and letting out quiet sobs, not addressing Adrien in any way. What came out of the pocket she opened was an extremely familiar face, but not one that he would ever expect to see with her of all people.

"... Plagg?"

The cat-like kwami emerged with glossy green eyes and a small smile. He flew over to his owner and gently hugged against his chest.

"H-Hey buddy… jeez, you scared me to death back there! I'm so glad you're okay!" Plagg said with relief.

Adrien felt such strong shame, not only because of how much he must have worried Plagg, but because he wondered if he had been able to feel the damage too while he was transformed. He gave his dear friend a light hug with one hand.

"Aww, I'm sorry I scared you pal," he murmured in response. "It's so great to see you, but…"

The blonde looked back up to where Marinette sat across from him. Her head was down, staring at the purse in her lap as tears dripped from her chin.

He heard her say with a break in her voice, "It's okay… y-you can come out, there's n-no point in hiding… not anymore."

She sounded so defeated. It was _painful_ to hear.

After a few more moments, a small red creature rose out of the girl's bag. No, not just a creature; a _kwami!_ It had three large black circles on its head, and in the same place as Plagg's ears were, it had antennae instead.

 _It looks just like a…._

 _a ladybug._

The pieces formed themselves together in Adrien's mind before he could even speak. With eyes wide with shock and the urge to sob, the cruel world that he lived in said the words to his face.

 _"You were right,"_ they said. _"How could you let this happen? You're a failure,"_ they said.

He could barely breathe.

"...You're…"

 _"She knows who you are."_

"Yeah…" Marinette muttered sadly.

 _"You know who she is."_

She lifted her head up to face him again, gaze filled with sadness. As if mimicking her, Adrien sensed a drop of warm liquid slide down his cheek. The two of them didn't need words. The events had played out in the most exact way possible, as if this was fate. As if some higher power used them as puppets to create one scenario out of possible millions, where this would happen.

 _It was her all along,_ Adrien thought, finally taking in the knowledge. _The one I've sworn my eternal love to has been right there in front of me this entire time..._

 _But, I can't celebrate this knowledge. I'm not_ _ **supposed**_ _to be happy about this!_ He felt another tear fall. _I've screwed everything up... this is all my fault, I can't believe I've let this happen!_

 _This was_ _ **never**_ _supposed to happen!_

"Ladybug," Adrien acknowledged to his partner.

"Chat Noir," Marinette acknowledged him back.

* * *

 **A/N:** OOOOOHH CLIFFHANGER! XD

I get it already. I'm evil.

With exams coming up, I'll probably have zero time for writing for about the next week and a half. I hate to make you guys wait this long again, but chapter 14 will probably take 3-4 weeks. Please forgive me!

Hope you all liked this chapter! Please leave your thoughts and feedback in the comments, and have a wonderful day!


	14. Chapter 14: Unmasked Emotions

**A/N:** Hey friends, I'm here and back for more angst! :D

So **WOW** , the reception on the previous chapter was downright incredible! You guys are all so amazing and kind, and every little comment that I get means so much to me! I'm glad that so many people can experience and truly enjoy what I have to offer! Thanks you guys 333

Now, I know this isn't the greatest news to start off with, but as more and more content and detail is being poured into these chapters, they're starting to pretty much always end up longer than I initially expect them to be. In a perfect world, I would be able to publish chapters more often, however with the time it takes to write these and with how much craziness goes on in my every day life, chapter updates truly are looking like they'll only be once a month from here on out.

I know this probably disappoints you guys, but I will continue to release new chapters whenever at all possible! I love all of you guys for constantly reading and enjoying, and I hope that you will understand!

Without further adieu, please enjoy this long awaited, emotional chapter!

* * *

 **Minor Chapter Warnings:**

\- Descriptive blood

\- Shock and trauma

* * *

People would always say, _"Ignorance is bliss."_

Until the day of Gunslinger's attack, Marinette never realized how much she underestimated these words.

The hospital room was filled with dead noise, making it almost eerie. No one spoke, no one blinked or sighed or sobbed. Despite their tears oozing with pure emotion, the room was just silent, the gentle audio of the heart monitor being completely drowned out by their own emotions clouding their senses. It was such an uncanny experience for both Marinette and Adrien, they knew that they would never hear dead silence the same as this one ever again.

Because both of their lives had just changed forever in those moments.

"You..." Adrien muttered to the girl across from him, his voice breaking. "It's b-been you all along?"

Marinette hiccuped again, and couldn't bring herself to respond. She only nodded with watery eyes. What would he even think of her at this point?

Her chest ached with a deep pain; the kind of pain that tightens your lungs and causes both panic and tranquility, in a sad way. Tikki looked up at her with sorrowful, albeit expectant, blue eyes. She was waiting for her to explain to Adrien what happened, or to tell him how she felt, to just say _something!_ But god, she had no idea where to start.

Marinette knew that this day would come someday, when the two of them would discover each other's true identities, despite the fact that they weren't supposed to. She always imagined that she would try to remain calm, and to work things out with him or get to know his real self better. Whoever he was.

However, when Chat Noir was revealed to be the boy that she's had a huge crush on for over a year, who sits in front of her in class and she's done projects and events with, and who she admires so much for his kindness and talents, staying calm was a million times easier said than done. Not to mention the fact that he was currently in a hospital bed, recovering with a wound that nearly ended his life, and she had had to _witness_ it.

The pigtailed girl took in a shaky breath, and, her voice croaking, she finally spoke to the boy before her.

"I'm s-sorry Adrien... there's so much I n-need to say to you, so much that's happened. I j-just..." a voice-breaking sob briefly overtook her before she continued, "Where do I start in a situation like this?! _God,_ I don't know w-what to say!"

From where they gently sat, Tikki and Plagg exchanged a questioning gaze and nodded, before lifting into the air and floating between the two emotional teenagers.

Plagg began with a sigh, "Look you two, this situation obviously isn't a good one. You feel guilty, you feel like you've failed, and we get it. Tikki and I are disappointed that this has been placed upon you guys so much sooner than we were expecting, but now that it's happened, we need to learn to deal with it."

Tikki nodded in agreement. "Adrien, now you know that Marinette is Ladybug. And Marinette, now you know that Adrien is Chat Noir. We understand that you two will have a lot to work out, and will need time to get used to knowing each other's identities. I think we need to work to put a positive spin into this situation though. You guys know now, and there's no going back from here, so you can use this to help yourselves and each other. Don't let it bring you down, just take the unfortunate circumstances and work together to bring yourselves higher!"

Marinette and Adrien exchanged wide gazes. They both knew that their kwamis were right, there was no going back from here and the only thing they could do with this situation is try to turn it into a benefit. Working together as heroes would be no different than it was before, only their relationship with one another. The blonde let out another sniff and rubbed his hand against his two damp eyes, before lightly chuckling.

"Man, how my life has changed in these past few days..." he muttered halfheartedly. "Shot and almost killed, having to stay in the hospital without the people you love there with you... and then finding out that my most trusted partner who I've had a crush on for ages turns out to be another friend who I see at school every day. Small world, huh?"

She sighed, sharing in his lackluster tone.

"Yeah... I guess it really is..."

The two of them shifted awkwardly for a few extended moments, Marinette taking the time to wipe the tears from her own face.

 _No more crying,_ she told herself. _I_ _ **must**_ _remain strong!_

Their respective kwamis rested on their laps, remaining silent as to let the two of them work out this conflict for themselves. Plagg was acting extremely abnormal from his usual behavior, remaining mostly quiet and clinging to his master like a life-support.

Attempting to calm her emotions that were raging like ocean waves in a hurricane, she pulled herself closer to Adrien and gently placed her hand against his.

"Listen, A-Adrien... I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything, this entire situation th-that you've been put into. I know there must've been a way to prevent this, b-but..." Marinette sighed a leftover sob came out of her. "But I feel like s-such a failure! I wasn't able to protect you from g-getting shot, or even _cursed_ , and now... well, now I j-just don't know what to do! I-I'm _sorry!_ "

Her body trembled with guilt, sadness, and anticipation. Would Adrien push her away? Would he blame her too? Was he going to survive through all that had happened to him? She couldn't even bear to think about it; not right now.

However, he simply gripped her hand and smiled sadly.

"None of this was your fault Marinette, but I understand if you feel guilty about it. I know how you feel, and you should know that I blame you for nothing. We'll w-work this out, it'll be okay."

He said to her the exact words that she needed to hear.

 _It'll be okay._

Uncontrollably, Marinette's breath hitched and she lunged forward into Adrien's grasp. She embraced him gently as to not irritate his healing wound, all the while gripping the back of his shirt tightly so that it bunched into her closed fists, and leaking some leftover tears. He returned the hug silently, wrapping his arms around her softly and pressing his forehead against her shoulder.

The moment felt surreal for both of them. Despite their guilt, fears, and despair, it felt as if they were consoling each other as well. Like a stronger connection had grown between them, and without words they had the power to tell each other, _"It's okay."_

 _"I understand."_

 _"I forgive you."_

 _"We'll be okay."_

After many quiet moments between them, Adrien finally spoke to his companion, "There's so much I need to say Marinette. So much to talk about, so many feelings that I need to convey. Believe me, I understand exactly how you feel. However, if there's anything I can say to you right now..."

The blonde let go of the embrace that they held, placing his grip against Marinette's shoulder so that she would draw back from him, and he looked her seriously in the eyes.

"If you're going to blame yourself for anything, _don't_ blame yourself for the wasn't your doing in the slightest."

She gulped, parting her lips to begin a retort, before hesitating and then simply giving him a nod. Marinette sat back down on the bed beside him, Tikki and Plagg sitting silently with their respective Miraculous owners, continuing just to let the two of them fix the mess themselves.

The pigtailed teenager rubbed her eyes once more, and said to Adrien, "I doubt the d-doctors told you everything about when you were asleep... do you w-want to know what happened? Y-Y'know, before you g-got here."

He hesitantly nodded, putting a gentle grip against his ribcage.

"I-I saw that you wrapped the Lucky Charm around me, and I'm guessing that it was to cover up the scar... right?"

She nodded.

"Heh, guess it really does have a lucky power of its own, since the doctors believed your story and didn't try to remove it, and it's helping me recover. Still though... I know that I don't know the entire story from when I was out."

Marinette drew in a shaky breath. It had been four days now since the attack, and looking back on what occurred that day gave her anxiety. Like how he had described to her before with his nightmares, she felt as if despite the event now being a memory, it would play on repeat like a broken record in her head.

However, knowing how much Adrien must've wanted to hear her side of the story, she began to explain, "Well, I'm g-guessing that you know everything that happens leading up to... y'know, _that._ Just before you p-passed out, I heard you call my name."

She gulped. This is one of the details that she hated the most.

"W-Well... it was m-more like a scream th-than a call..."

Adrien's green eyes grew wide, visibly searching to recall what had just been told to him.

"I s-screamed your name...?" he repeated, tensed. "I-I don't remember that at all... I must've scared you so badly Marinette, I-I'm sorry."

Taking a moment before responding, Marinette knew that she couldn't lie in this situation. What had happened _had_ terrified her, not only because Chat Noir had suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream with Ladybug's name woven between the agony, but because of what followed after she had dreadfully looked behind her.

"I-It's alright Adrien, you have no reason to be sorry," she insisted, before taking a slow breath and then continuing. "By the time I saw you, you were already unconscious. B-Being honest, I had thought... that you were already dead. I couldn't move I was so shocked, but Ni- uh, C-Carapace snapped me out of it, and we went over to where you lay."

The blonde across from her nodded slowly. Marinette guessed that her rising distress was becoming visible, as he gently reached out his hand as if offering it to her, and then she tightly grasped it. Simply holding onto Adrien's hand brought her an extra sense of comfort that she needed. He was alive, he was healing, he was speaking and listening to her.

He was okay.

He said to her, "You don't have to tell me everything if you don't want to talk about it, Marinette. I'm fine not knowing everything if looking back on it makes you this scared."

Attempting to control herself, she continuously took in deep breaths while gripping his hand, and reminded herself that this was information that he deserved to know. Once she got it out, this hell would be over.

"You t-told me everything about your nightmares, e-even though they really scared you to look back on them... so if you'll g-go through that for me," she turned her head away from here she stared at the window, locking her gaze with his. "Then I can do this for you."

Adrien gave her a small smile of appreciation.

With a heavy heart, Marinette continued her side of the story.

* * *

Ladybug's body was frozen. She was in complete and utter shock, unable to move, despite her efforts. It felt as if her pupils had shrunk into her eye sockets at the sight, and her veins had been turned to sheer ice.

So many terrible feelings crashed upon her at once, like a giant wave that then trapped her beneath the water's surface to drown. First came terror, confusion, and rapid breathing, before the paralysis came upon her and left her unable to move or speak. She could barely breathe, and that mixed with the sudden dizziness and fatigue as a result threatened to bring her falling to the ground in an unconscious heap.

Thankfully, before Ladybug could replicate her fallen partner, she heard the other hero who accompanied them, Carapace, yell something at her that she couldn't make out, and then jump behind her and block an excruciatingly loud bullet with his shield, protecting her. He turned around, grasped her shoulders and gave her a shake, continuously talking to her and trying to bring her back to her senses.

"H-Hey dude! Come on Ladybug, please, you need to snap out of it! Chat Noir is in huge t-trouble, he needs you!"

Carapace gently brought her to the ground to sit, and tried to rub his hands quickly against her arms to provide heat from friction, causing a twinge of pain from where she had been attacked back at the school. He frantically looked behind him where the cat-like hero lay in his own blood pool, before turning back to the heroine.

"Listen to me, I understand that you're like super shocked right now and that it must be really hard for you, but I need you to help me! That's your partner over there, and he's going to die if something's not done! P-Please, you have to snap out of it!"

Ladybug could hear him now. She heard the desperation in his voice, and it reminded her of the true situation at hand.

 _Chat Noir shot, Chat Noir bleeding out, Chat Noir will die..._

It only brought her more panic, however she tried to fight through it. She _had_ to fight through the feelings! Chat needed her right now; her partner, her friend, her family! Ladybug struggled to take in longer breaths, and slowly managed to curl into herself in order to gain more warmth. Her entire body trembled, and felt strangely chilled. Her head was light and dizzy, her stomach swam with nausea, and she had to force herself to get over it. Now wasn't a time to be vulnerable, one of the most important people in her life was dying by the second.

As Ladybug struggled, Carapace ran over to where Chat Noir was splayed out, and gently lifted him and brought him over to where his partner was. Moisture was present in the turtle hero's eyes as he approached again, and she had barely enough strength to lift her head as he knelt in front of her, and placed a still-bleeding Chat down gently to the rooftop. Carapace's suit was now greatly stained in red liquid, however even through the clad black of the victim's suit, Ladybug could see how drenched he was in his own blood.

"I-I-Is h-he...?" was all the spotted girl could make out.

Her eyes began to well with hot tears. Chat's skin was ghostly pale, and one entire side of his body was soaked in scarlet due to falling unconscious in his own blood. The right side of his leather suit just below his ribcage had a visible hole torn through it, and it was bad enough to still be oozing since only a minute had passed since the attack. Ladybug hated the thought of it, but he already looked like the remaining life left in him was gone. Her breath hitched, and as the initial agitation finally began to shift into utter despair and she could more comfortably move and breathe again, her tears began to fall.

She was confident he must either be dead, or too late to save.

However, Carapace swiftly placed a hand over the blonde's lips, and then pressed his fingers against his pulse. His amber eyes lit up with sudden hope.

"There's still a pulse... i-it's weak, but somehow still steady. He's alive!"

He looked up to the emotional Ladybug desperately at the sound of his beeping Miraculous. They didn't have much time.

"Chat Noir still has a chance, we need to get him to the hospital right now! Can you move?" Carapace rambled frantically, while grabbing her Lucky Charm from the ground and wrapping it tightly around her wrist for her.

Ladybug sobbed. She knew that she had to hurry, now knowing that her partner still had a chance, but there was another new piece of information that brought great distress to her heart.

 _If I want to get Chat to the hospital, I'll have no choice but to see his true identity... it's impossible for me to make it there fast enough to prevent that._

 _But I can't, we're heroes! We're never supposed to know our true identities!_

She knew that the energy left in his ring was going to run out in mere minutes, and although the hospital wasn't far, he would surely detransform before she made it there. Heck, she was about to transform back too, she just didn't care right now.

The heroine thought, _I can't leave my closest partner here to bleed out, I would never in a million years do that to him. I..._ she sighed miserably. _I have to get him to the hospital, even if it risks our relationship as heroes being changed for the rest of our lives. There's one person who I can't let see us, however._

Clenching her fists and forcing herself to act, Ladybug got to her feet as her body trembled, and mustered her remaining strength to lift Chat Noir into her arms. She nearly gave out as her previously grazed arm badly ached, however she managed to catch herself. Almost immediately, his blood poured over her torso and legs, only letting out another sob as her tears marked his white cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry Carapace," she finally spoke, turning to her companion. "But I'm afraid I m-must ask you to leave."

His eyes went wide with confused surprise, and desperately he asked, "What? Why?! Dude, Chat Noir's in danger, he needs all the help that we can give hi-"

 **"I'm sorry!"**

Ladybug, growing more fueled with determination and emotion, cut him off. Their time was running out quick, and with another beep ringing through her ears from her Miraculous, she knew that they had to go.

"Please Carapace, I need to bring Chaton to safety by myself. I promise I'll be okay, just find a place to hide and keep the Miraculous safe until I can come and retrieve it from you."

"B-But..."

She could see the defeat in his eyes, and she gripped onto Chat tighter as she began to walk to the rooftops edge.

"Gunslinger's already ran off now, there's nothing we can do. Please just do this for me, find somewhere safe and hang tight until I can return to you, okay?" Ladybug repeated.

The heroine could hear her own heart pounding as silence filled the air, until a few long moments later when Carapace agreed to what she asked of him. They exchanged sad smiles, she thanked him, and a determined Ladybug was now running on her own with Chat Noir on the verge of death, both Miraculous beeping with the threat of impending failure.

Failure of the one rule that was never supposed to be broken.

Ladybug stumbled slightly at first and let out a whimper, recovering from the triggered horror of the violent attack. She was still struggling to breathe properly, and her limbs still felt stricken with an icy cold feeling, but with the kinetic energy that began to crackle through her joints, she forced herself to continue onward. She refused to stop until Chat was brought to safety.

Stealing a glance down, she was once again reminded of just how bad his wound was. Drops of red were left trailing behind the two heroes as she ran across the city, and it still continued to stream down both of their body's. Ladybug pressed her hand as firmly as she could on the back-side of the wound, but even then it barely halted the flow of the deadly liquid. It sent a shudder of anguish down her spine, accompanying the hot tears that refused to stop falling. She took a large leap again to the next rooftop.

After a few minutes of continuous running and jumping, only accompanied by the sound of her sadness, the heroine recognized the roof of the hospital in the near distance. A broken sob of relief escaped her. It would only be a few minutes now.

"J-Just hold on Chat, please! Stay alive, y-you'll be okay!" she panted out desperately, despite knowing that he couldn't hear her.

She hadn't checked his pulse in many minutes, for all Ladybug knew he could already be dead in her arms. Right now, she didn't care about that. The hospital was close, and if she could bring her dear companion to safety on time, he might just come out of things okay!

 _"Beep beep beep!"_

Suddenly, she gasped as the time on her own Miraculous officially ran out, and in a swarm of pink light, she became Marinette again. Startled by the sudden change, she collapsed to the rooftop in utter exhaustion and she could feel her throat tighten on the verge of a break down. Chat laid sprawled on the platform in front of her, and while continuing to bleed, the girl swiftly reached over and pressed her hands firmly against the wound to stop the flow as much as she possibly could. Tikki appeared from her earrings lethargically, and her head lolled for a few moments before her tiny eyes went wide at the sight before her.

She murmured in disbelief, "M-Marinette... what h-happened?"

The teenage girl cried quietly, unknown as to how she still managed to have tears left in her, and she gently picked up her tired kwami and placed her into her shoulder purse.

"Just rest f-for now Tikki. I p-promise I'll tell you everything later..." she choked out, before closing her purse shut.

Chat's ring beeped a warning at her. She knew that it was only a matter of time now; there was no escaping the burden of knowledge. Marinette gently placed her two fingers against his pulse with bated breath.

There was no beat for a few moments.

She felt her blood run cold.

 _"Thump... thump..."_

Relief washed over her, but only briefly. Somehow, Chat was still alive, but edging closer to death by the minute. She knew that she should have continued running, but she needed to stop for what she knew was inevitably coming. Just for a minute.

"Chat Noir..." Marinette began to convey through her tears. "I know that y-you're fatally wounded and can't hear me, b-but if by some miracle you c-can, then please listen to me. The time of our hidden identities has come to an end, and as m-much as I hate for this to happen, we'll have to see who we really are... I promise that no matter who you truly are underneath your mask, I will s-still care for you just as much as I do as your partner. I could never hate you, so even if this is the worst circumstance possible, this will be a new start for us. It will be m-more dangerous, but we can try to bring good out of it."

Marinette leaned down and pressed her fists and forehead against Chat's chest, clutching him desperately as sobs and wails continued to tear through her body.

"And please... _please,_ I beg you, if there's anything that I could wish for right now, please please _please_ stay alive! Don't leave me Chat, I... I..."

She held her eyes shut tightly, and forced herself to choke out the truth. Whether she meant it in a romantic or platonic way, she still didn't know.

"I love you."

A final warning rang through the air, and even with her eyes closed Marinette could see the green, electric-like light that swarmed his body. The leather beneath her clenched fists turned to soft fabric, and she couldn't help but mutter a curse when she knew that their times of secret identities was now lost forever.

"I'm sorry Master... Master Fu, I'm so sorry!" she cried.

With a final hesitation, Marinette lifted herself up from Chat's chest and opened her eyes.

Her blue gaze grew large with horror, and her stomach gave a sickening churn. She struggled not to throw up as she once again struggled to breathe.

She never could have imagined that her ridiculous theory was actually correct, and in this moment, she absolutely loathed the fact that she was right.

"Adrien."

It was really him. This whole time, the beautiful blonde teenager who she saw every day at school, sat right behind, and admired with all of her heart: he was Chat Noir the entire time!

"A-A-Adrien is Ch-Chat Noir..."

Somehow, saying his name in these moments felt like a sin. Marinette didn't know where these dreadful feelings came from; she was supposed to be happy, right? She finally knew who her partner really was, and the whole time he's been the most wonderful boy she's ever met!

So why did she feel so heavy with despair? Was it the guilt of failure? The built up emotions, or the fact that Adrien was shot and dying before her eyes? Would he be disappointed when he finds out who his lady really is?

 _Stop it Marinette, that doesn't matter right now!_ she scolded herself.

Adrien's kwami Plagg caught her eye, as he too lay unconscious next to his master. The pigtailed girl swiftly scooped him up and tucked him into her bag beside Tikki without any words. Her kwami's eyes met her as she reopened the purse, filled with sadness and apology.

Neither of them spoke a word.

As Marinette closed up her bag and reached toward her crush to lift him up again, she gasped as a pitch-black mark suddenly caught her eye. It sat against his neck, barely noticeable as the rest of it was covered up by his clothing, but she instantly knew what it was. This being her very first sight of the dark scar, a chill shot down her spine.

"Of course, I completely forgot! If Adrien is Ch-Chat Noir, then that mean he's had that curse this entire time... if I take him to the doctor's like this, they'll see the scar that he told me about on his chest, and will want to know where it came from!" she panicked out loud.

She swung her head around desperately, looking for something, _anything_ that she could use to protect what Adrien wouldn't want others to know. It was up to her now to keep him safe and alive at all costs, even if his chances were growing ever slimmer.

Marinette's thoughts were flying around in her head like a swarm of flies: a large group of fast, sporadic irritations that she forced herself to ignore for now.

 _Gunslinger escaped._

 _Remember to breathe._

 _Chat Noir is dying._

 _Adrien is dying._

 _Adrien is Chat Noir._

 _Oh my god Adrien is Chat Noir._

 _Keep breathing Mari._

 _Adrien's had Fatal Dreaming this whole time._

 _I'm his last hope._

 _I'm the only one who can save him._

 _I'm such a failure._

 _How could I let this happen?_

As she swung her head back to where she came from, a new colour grabbed Marinette's vision. Just a few feet away from her lay her Lucky Charm, the same as ever and not vanished after she detransformed.

It all became clear to her now, as she quickly reached over and snatched it from the rooftop, the same place where she had detransformed. _Of course, the tensor bandage really was warning me that injury was coming. Dammit, I should've been more careful, or alert, or something!"_

Hesitantly, Marinette reached to Adrien and began taking his sweater off of him. She felt very wrong for doing this, it was definitely a violation of his personal space without permission.

 _Even if the bandage is supposed to be used for sprains, I can still use it to wrap around his chest and cover up the markings so that the doctors don't see it!_ She gulped. _I just hope that they don't remove it. Shit, they probably will, what am I thinking? I should be using it to protect where he's bleeding, but I know that this could put him in serious danger too._

Unsettled by having no choice but to do it, Marinette removed the blonde's dark, striped shirt that he commonly wore, and finally caught a glimpse of two of the most horrifying things she had ever seen.

One was a gaping hole on the right side of his torso, about the diameter of a nickel, covered mostly by what looked like enough blood to make up multiple liters.

The second was a large, jagged scar that had the appearance of a lightning blast. Black with a purple glow, spreading now to Adrien's neck and shoulders as well as his chest, and gave off an aura of darkness and agony.

She had to clasp a hand over her mouth to stop herself from hurling. This was an absolutely awful idea.

 _Focusfocusfocusfocusfocusfocusfocus!_

Marinette grabbed the red and black spotted bandage, and began to wrap it around his chest as fast as she could, covering up the dreadful mark. It took her a couple minutes before the blackness was completely smothered by the Lucky Charm, so she gave his pulse another quick check.

The beats were growing slower, only pulsing beneath her fingers every few long seconds. Adrien's face was a pale grey-ish hue, with sweat beads starting to form against his forehead.

A frantic blend of determination and terror shot through Marinette's entire body, and with a newfound dose of adrenaline she picked up his shirtless body and began to literally sprint for his life. She was thankful that the building they were on top of had an open entrance to the inside, where she ran down a dozen flights of stairs to get to the ground again, somehow without growing exhausted. The girl noticed how she never saw or passed a single other civilian, and deduced that they must all be hiding from the threat that had just earlier raged across the streets of Paris.

Now at the bottom level, Marinette nearly slammed right through the large front doors of the building to get outside to the city sidewalk, and held onto Adrien tightly as she ran toward the nearby hospital as fast as she could possibly muster. Pure energy fizzed and shot through her body.

The last clear memory that she had was finally reaching the doors of the building, and bringing her bleeding loved one inside.

Everything became a blur after that, like it was all a bad dream.

She vaguely remembered how the doctors came out to meet her the instant that they received word about Adrien, and he was brought into emergency treatment within the first minute of her making it to the hospital. She explained to them about the Lucky Charm, although had long given up on the medics actually believing her.

She just hoped that the object would live true to it's name, and be a genuine charm of luck for Adrien, because god he needed it.

Another doctor took Marinette to a smaller recovery room of her own. Throughout the following hours, things were worked out with her parents, and the doctor wanted her just to stay the night in the building so that she could have a proper recovery from what she went through, and professionals would be there if she needed them. The moment she was finally alone, the lost teenager passed out for hours.

She was awoken late into the evening by a small feeling. It's voice was high pitched, and sounded desperate. Marinette slowly opened her weary eyes to see that at some point she had been properly tucked into bed, and both Tikki and Plagg were floating above her, expectantly waiting for her to wake up.

"Oh Mari, thank goodness you're finally awake!" Tikki reveled, coming down and hugging close to her cheek. "You've been asleep for hours."

Marinette smiled warmly and hugged her small companion back, however her tranquility vanished the moment she remembered everything that happened that day.

She drew back from Tikki and inquired, "Has there been any news on Adrien? Is he okay, have they finished treating him yet?"

The black and red kwamis exchanged a glance, before Tikki nodded and Plagg floated closer to speak with Marinette. His cat-like eyes appeared exhausted and emotional, however also filled with hope.

"The doctors haven't said anything yet, but not long after I woke up I went to go and see Adrien," Plagg explained. "When I found his room, the doctors were just finishing up their treatment. It was so awful to see the condition he was in, but from what I overheard... he's alive, and they think he's going to pull through."

Her breathing bated, Marinette felt like she was going to cry again. The heavy stone of dread and pain that had settled in her stomach began to lift in those moments, knowing that despite the failures, there were also successions that came out as well.

She saved him. She really managed to make it in time, and somehow, Adrien survived!

With a heavy sigh of relief, Marinette rested her head back down on her pillow. She relished the moments of joy and love that came in those moments, freeing her mind of all of the darker times that she knew were to come. For the time being, Ladybug had triumphed in the most important mission she had ever made.

Tikki and Plagg gently smiled down at the pigtailed girl, as her smile grew the widest it had ever felt in her life and she breathed out, "I did it... he's alive."

"He's really alive!"

* * *

Adrien sat in astonished silence, green eyes wide, as Marinette wiped away another tear. She absolutely despised looking back on that day, and he could tell.

"Th-That's basically it..." she concluded. "After that, I just stayed at the hospital overnight to help me rest properly, and then I went home with Plagg and Tikki. I've been anticipating being able to see you ever since."

 _Wow._

She truly had saved his life.

The two of them hadn't let go of their hands for 20 minutes, keeping their grips tight as Marinette told her story. She had begun to cry again part of the way through, and Adrien didn't blame her one bit. Merely being in each other's presence with this newfound knowledge triggered so many powerful emotions within them.

 _But we'll stick together through it, and come out stronger._

"Marinette, I..."

He began to speak again after a minute of silence, but didn't know how to properly piece together his thoughts into words. She watched him with expectant, bluebell eyes.

Sighing, Adrien expressed to her, "I can't thank you enough. I never could have even imagined that this would happen, but if you hadn't been there... if you hadn't been so determined, I surely would have died. You didn't give up on me, even when all hope was lost. _Thank you so much!_ "

Courteously, he lowered his head as a polite bow to her.

"How can I ever make it up to you?" he asked.

Marinette's expression grew large with surprise at his offer, and used her hand that wasn't interlaced with his to quickly wave him off.

"No no no NO you don't have to do anything for me Adrien!" she told him, gaze locked with his. "I-It's just that... as Chat Noir, you've rescued me f-from danger dozens of times! Sure, most of them haven't been life threatening, but don't you get it?"

She grabbed his other hand so that she held both of them within her two palms, and for the first time since she got there, she game him a genuine, wide, sweet smile. In that one expression, Adrien observed how it had the same power and integrity as Ladybug's smile, mixed with the awkward kindness of Marinette's.

"No matter what happens, we're partners. We fight together, protect each other, and keep the city safe together. That is our jobs, transformed or not. Even if knowing each other's identities makes us more prone to danger, it can also make us stronger, and we have to remember that. We always have to work and grow together!"

Something sparked.

Something new roused inside of Adrien; a new feeling. A strange, but very warm feeling, that seemed to trigger as he admired the girl speaking before him.

She was Marinette, but he could see the Ladybug in her showing its true colours. The way she spoke, the way her eyes lit with a certain flare, the way her aura suddenly became so strong, like a barrier that could protect him from any hazards that came their way.

It was just so... _Ladybug!_ He knew, however, that she wasn't really Ladybug.

No, behind that mask was Marinette, the true heroine of Paris. The girl who would always get flustered in his presence, and loved to create things in all different forms. She seemed like just your typical teenage girl, but only a select few knew the truth of the powerful good-will that was apart of her.

This feeling inside of Adrien... he could tell what it was now. He had experienced it in a similar fashion previously toward Ladybug: a blissful but also energy-triggering warmth that spread through every nerve in his body, giving him a sense of strength and joy, merely by being in her presence. It was so engaging.

He knew that he was feeling love.

"So, what do you say, Adrien?" Marinette asked him somewhat shyly. "Will you still work with me? Will we both keep each other protected and strong, masks or not?"

With little to no hesitation, he returned her wide smile and nodded.

"Always..." he pulled one of her hands closer to him and lightly kissed the top of it. "My Lady."

The speckled cheeks of the pigtailed girl instantly flushed up into a bright, startled red, before she tugged her hand away from him and they both giggled.

She sputtered, "L-Let's just, uh... t-take things slow f-for now, okay? At least until we g-get more used to this."

Adrien nodded, understanding her wishes.

"I just can't believe you've been Ladybug this entire time," he reveled with a chuckle. "Now that I know, it makes me feel like I should have figured this out a _long_ time ago. I mean, the pigtails, the eyes, the way you're always running off and late to class!"

Marinette let out a soft laugh, making the butterflies flutter in his stomach. Everything about her had suddenly become even more wonderful than it was before.

She seemed to relax more as she sat facing him, and lightly held Tikki in her lap.

"Well, the thing is before all of this happened I had actually begun to have my suspicions," she explained lightheartedly. "I began to clue in that despite you and Chat acting so different, you had a lot of similar features. Especially just before Gunslinger's attack at school, when you had that panic attack in class. I wondered if it was because of... well, y-your nightmares."

The blonde nearly struggled to recall any events from before Gunslinger. It was as if his entire life had changed, and everything that came beforehand was all some crazy dream. Waking up from being unconscious for over a day had felt like waking up from a thousand-year sleep.

"Heh, I hope I didn't miss too much from school," Adrien joked. "Anything I should know about?"

Marinette shrugged. "Not really. All schools have been closed for a few days due to the akuma, and the dance ours was going to have this Friday was moved to a week later. You haven't missed out on anything, don't worry."

His smile suddenly faded. He had been so caught up in what had happened in the battle and afterward, there was an integral detail that he - and supposedly Marinette - had both been looking over.

Her expression changed when she saw his frown. "What? W-What's the matter?" she urged him. "I-I mean, there's a lot of th-things that could be the m-matter at a time like this. Are you in pain? Do you need any help?"

Adrien's expression tensed into that of frustration and bitterness. As a hero, he realized that he was failing to do his job. A job that he and his partner had never failed in until now.

"Marinette... Gunslinger is still out there."

Her head lowered, blue eyes turning somber.

She murmured in reply, "I... I know. He's still out h-hiding somewhere, striking fear into the civilians hearts..."

The blonde righted himself with toughened determination. She was right, this akuma was the cause of so much destruction, pain, and fear. He had already sworn that Hawkmoth would fall by their hands, so this could be where the two of them start: by defeating the most feared and dangerous villain Paris had seen yet!

"We have to find him and take him down!" Adrien spoke with a newfound energy. "It's our jobs as heroes to protect th-"

Marinette suddenly cut him off and threw out her hands onto his shoulders, in an attempt to settle his outburst.

"Woah woah Adrien, slow down! We have to protect the city, yes, but to do that we have to keep ourselves protected too. You still have a great deal of recovery to go, and until then you can't be going out and fighting as Chat Noir."

He grumbled, because she was extremely correct.

"So what do we do then? Just lay low and hope that Gunslinger doesn't suddenly show up and start hurting more people while we're nowhere to be found?" he asked with irritation.

Marinette sighed, once again keeping a grip on his hand.

"I know it's not ideal, but it's the only choice we have right now. I can't defeat him without you."

The latter comment brought a slight smile back to Adrien's face. The two of them would always need each other, and this was definitely one of those times. Right now, the only choice that they had was to remain in hiding.

"The two of us can get this all resolved," he said to her.

She nodded, a glint of confidence and fortitude shining in her bluebell eyes.

"Yeah. When the time comes to face him, we'll do it together. Right?"

Adrien grinned.

"Right."

The duo gripped each other's hands. Even when they were apart, they would never let go.

"Together."

* * *

 **A/N:** Awww what little lovebirds! I'm sure it's a very big relief that they're finally not so blind anymore :3

On a different note, some of you may have noticed that the cover for Fatal Dreaming was updated recently! It is original art, designed entirely by me and my amazing friend (who deserves way more credit toward this fic than she gets) unlucky chat noir! She helped with drawing Adrien, while I took care of the rest of the effects. She helps me write difficult parts, proof reads all of the chapters, and overall assisted in developing the plot and some of the chapters. You should all go to her and give her a big thank you for helping me out toward this fic, because it's not all 100% done by me and it's important to acknowledge that. ;)

Thank you as always for being such amazing viewers! Please give me any comments or feedback that you would like to share, I always appreciate whatever you all have to say! Hope you all have a wonderful day, see you next month! XD


	15. Chapter 15: Fighting the Shadows

**A/N:** Hey everybody, I finally finished this month's new chapter!

I wanted to say how sorry I am for the extended wait, I would have liked to get this chapter out sooner, however multiple family issues came up along the way! I went on a school trip, then my grandfather had a fall and had to go to the hospital (he's alright now), and then my mom got injured and I had to help out with a lot of the chores that she would normally do. A lot of my free time has been taken up lately, let's just put it that way! X_X

But with great pleasure, I now bring you the newest chapter! I always adore the reviews that are left for this story, they make me so happy and motivated! I wanted to thank you all again for your kind words on my writing, it means the world to me!

I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

 **Minor Chapter Warnings:**

\- Mentions of anxiety

\- Minor PTSD? (Lots o' fear cause by memories, that's for sure)

\- Very emotional

* * *

An extremely sharp intake of breath, almost enough to cause a sharp pain in his lungs, is what once again woke Adrien up from chaotic fiction into the silent darkness of reality. It took him a few minutes to refresh himself of his surroundings and calm his racing heartbeat, but in the dim moonlight filtering through his window, he could barely make out Plagg coming over and floating just above his gaze.

"Hey buddy, your breathing got really heavy in your sleep again," he commented. "Another nightmare?"

Adrien rubbed his heavy eyes with the back of his hand and nodded, sitting up with his now usual ache in his side.

He replied to his kwami, "Yeah, but that's the fifth night in a row that it's happened again..."

A strange occurrence had begun to happen.

It felt like an everyday standard had suddenly broken. He had now grown so accustomed to the chance of terror every time that he slept, that Adrien was shocked by the sudden switch in his visions. Not just that, in fact, but Fatal Dreaming as a whole! His scar had stopped growing or hurting him ever since he got to the hospital, he hadn't had any threatening hallucinations or panic attacks, and despite not having the Master's pills, well...

"She didn't die."

Plagg nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, you've been mentioning recently how Mari's suddenly been surviving in your dreams, when she which used to never happen. I've actually been putting a bit of thought into this, and may have come up with a possible solution."

The curious blonde raised his eyebrow. It wasn't often that his cat-like friend took things this seriously, but he supposed when his life was at stake, a change as sharp as that was in need of further thought.

"Oh yeah? What do you think?" Adrien asked in return.

He flew closer and pointed a small arm to his master's chest. "The Lucky Charm," he answered. "It's known for being an object of pure good fortune, even if the ladybug Miraculous isn't active. I think it's been the main cause of how your luck lately has been, well... terribly notable."

The teenager raised a hand to his chin in thought. He had wondered about the spotted object too, and felt almost certain that Plagg wasn't wrong.

"Think about it!" he continued. "First of all, you managed to avoid dying when you were pretty darn close to it, and have had such a fast and abnormal recovery that the doctors are all shocked! And then whenever you try to sleep, the curse never affects you. The charm is right on top of it, so it could be acting as protection in some sort of way!

He murmured an agreement, however could already begin to feel his eyelids drooping again, thirsting for sleep.

 _That's strange... I'm not normally this tired right after I wake up from a dream._

Plagg continued on, "If you didn't have that charm with you, I hate to think how this situation may have turned out. I seriously could have lost you, please be more careful the next time you're in a dangerous fight like that!"

Adrien lethargically nodded in agreement. He hated to wonder how badly this could have gone wrong as well; what would he have done without Marinette there to protect him? This entire time, identities known or not, she had been protecting him better than he could ever do for her. She had made all of the right moves, comforted him, woke him up from his nightmares, and even blocked him off from death.

His leaf-green eyes grew heavier, as warm moisture began to tag alongside the exhaustion that was already weighing them down. If he had been alone throughout this situation, he easily would have died.

 _I can never protect My L- ...Marinette the way I want to, no matter how hard I try. Yet, when one fight goes wrong for me my entire life begins to depend on her, and she does so much of a better job of keeping me safe. Why can't I be as strong as her? Why can't I protect myself enough to find a cure without having to place this burden onto her shoulders?_

The blonde rubbed his damp eyes sadly, his kwami coming down to sit on his knees that were now pulled up to his chin. With how overwhelming the past many days had been for Adrien, especially when he found out about Marinette being Ladybug, he had never really had the time to sit in his own puddle of thoughts and emotions, however now that they all finally washed over him, he didn't know how to take it exactly.

He felt fear crawling through his veins. He had survived this round that life had thrown his way, sure, but what about the curse? He still had that to deal with, and he knew that the worse it would get, the greater chance there was of him succumbing to his nightmares. If it lasted too much longer, he may die for real.

Gunslinger was still out on the loose, and even if he was currently in hiding he may still be hurting innocents too. He had laid down a blanket of fear and anticipation that was now draped across all of Paris, and he had no intentions of letting go. Adrien felt guilt shimmering within him, as maybe if he hadn't let himself get so terribly injured, they would have been able to defeat the akuma. This would be over by now.

With anxiety and guilt weighing down his heart like a heavy stone, the blonde slowly moved his head back down to the pillow beneath him.

 _Gunslinger... nightmares... curse... Marinette..._

Those four words played on repeat throughout Adrien's mind until he drifted back into the nothingness of sleep. Situations just continued to keep piling onto his shelf of misfortunes that he needed to live with, and at this point, he wasn't sure if he would have time to fix them all.

* * *

With the shimmering final touches, Marinette wiped away the beads of sweat that had formed on her head, and took a pace back to admire her completed work.

Before her, propped up on a mannequin that was a previously received gift from her parents, was a beautiful, hand-made blue gown! The layers on the skirt gave it a lovely, wave-like appearance, with gentle silver sparkles and a slight gradient from top to bottom to back it up. It came out almost exactly as how she wanted; it was perfect!

"Wow Marinette, you've really been working hard! It looks amazing!" Tikki complimented her.

She replied happily, "Thanks Tikki, I can't believe how much I've improved already! Especially considering how big of a project this dress was..."

The kwami cast her a side glance, and Marinette picked up on hints of concern in her gaze.

"Something wrong, Tikki?"

"It's just..." she murmured to the teenager. "For the past few days, you've been working much harder at this than you were initially. I'm proud of you for being so motivated to get it done, but you partially worked on this dress as a distraction from everything else, didn't you?"

After a moment of pause, she chuckled halfheartedly. Tikki knew her much better than most people did, so it came as no surprise to Marinette that she was able to see right through her over-enthusiastic attitude.

She wasn't wrong, she really had been trying to distract herself from reality. Take a break for a while from all of the chaos that had seemingly taken over her life, and yet, no matter how hard she tried, there were so many names, sounds, and images that just wouldn't leave her mind no matter how hard she tried.

She wasn't sure if she would ever forget the feeling of utter shock and terror that overwhelmed her body when she almost lost the boy who was later revealed to be her crush. Even still, before she knew that Chat Noir was really Adrien, she had had the sheer panic of being on the verge of losing her partner.

Her best friend.

Someone she would trust with her life, whose puns and flirty remarks still warmed her heart even if they grew old.

That amazing hero who managed to survive his life threatening wound... it was really her beautiful classmate Adrien.

"Heh, I can't hide anything from you, can I?" Marinette inquired.

She took a drowsy seat on her spotted chaise, and her kwami followed after her to sit on her lap.

"I know you're really worried about Adrien Marinette, but it's thanks to you that he's alive in the first place," Tikki reminded. "He's having a very healthy recovery, and then the two of you will have more time to talk and work things out. It's been nearly a week since the attack anyway, is it still bugging you that much?"

She emotionally gave a nod.

"Everything that happened, I... I can't get it out of my head!" she confessed. "There was so much blood, I was s-so scared, and he almost died... I don't even know what I would have done if I had failed. I can't even imagine how I would have felt is he had really died that day."

Her lip lightly quivered as she spoke.

"Also, I know that he'll recover from his wound, but what about Fatal Dreaming? Adrien still has this curse that we have no idea how to heal, and it could kill him too! There's so much that's hurting him, just the thought of it makes me so worried! W-We only have so much time left..."

As a hiccup of sadness escaped her, Marinette felt Tikki's small hand brush her cheek in a calming manner. It brought her some sense of comfort.

"We can all go visit Master Fu sometime soon, okay? I promise we'll figure this out, especially if his safety will make you happier," she said sympathetically.

The pigtailed girl smiled sweetly to her kwami and gave her a gentle hug with her hand. Truth be told, she felt as if the way she described her emotions to Tikki were an understatement. There was an anguish that had settled bone-deep into her, like a closed box of suffering. And yet, she wasn't the person in this scenario who was _truly_ suffering.

Adrien's body, limp and bloodied, was still placed vividly at the very front of her mind, with the terror that had been woven into his tone as he first told her about his curse, right behind it. He had already experienced so much sadness in his life, and yet in the recent months she would never be able to imagine the sure amount of agony that he's endured.

 _If I can do anything to take some sort of weight off of his shoulders,_ she ordered herself. _I'll do it. Whatever he needs that will put him through less pain, I'll be there to help him!_

Marinette pulled herself up from her spot on the chaise, and brought her mind back to the present. She silently packed away all of her sewing and designing materials now that her dress was complete, which evidently reminded her that she had yet to ask Adrien out to the dance at school.

She had meant to the week before, not long before Gunslinger's attack, but she never got the chance. She knew that everything about their relationship had changed now, but in the end, they were still the same two people that had always worked together as a strong duo, and they wouldn't be broken apart by one hardship.

She briefly helped her parents close up the bakery for the night, before giving them both a peck goodnight and going back up to her room once again. Busy thoughts continued to cloud her mind as she changed into a pair of red pajamas and organized her homework for when she would return to school again the following day.

However, just as Marinette went to turn out the lights and head to her bed, her movements were halted by a placid knocking that appeared from her balcony trapdoor. Her and Tikki exchanged widened blue eyes at the sudden sound, as the both knew that there was only one person who it could be.

Immediately worried for Adrien, who she knew should still be in recovery and not bounding across rooftops, she raced to her ladder and up to where she could let him inside. As expected, she lifted the wood to see the familiar golden hair and cat-like eyes looking back at her. He held a soft smile, however in his eyes she read a completely different message.

 _I need you._

They appeared desperate, fearful, and sad. Knowing that denial wasn't an option here, Marinette silently shifted aside on her blankets so that he could come inside, to which he did. Chat Noir's feet made little to no sound as he landed down onto the covers of her bed, and shut the trapdoor, leaving the two of them in a strange silence that they had shared a lot recently.

He was the first one to speak, "I'm so sorry for coming at a late hour Marinette, I-I just needed to speak with you... badly."

In an attempt of reassurance, she gave the blonde a gentle smile and replied, "Don't worry about it, you know that you're always welcome here Chat- er, Adrien. Although, aren't you supposed to be recovering? The d-doctors wouldn't let you out of the hospital after only a week, would they?"

He took a moment to detransform from Chat Noir, and handed Plagg a piece of cheese before letting out a sigh.

"Not normally, no, but it was actually the Lucky Charm that you put on me that let me heal extremely fast. After a week the injury was basically all sealed up on the outside, and I regained my ability to move around safely pretty quickly, so earlier today they sent me home."

Marinette nodded in understanding, and the two of them settled into a more comfortable position on her bed. They both seemed to know that this conversation wouldn't be over anytime soon.

"My father's been really messed up by this whole situation. He first came to see me not long after you had left the hospital, and it's the second time that I've ever seen him cry... he acted as if he felt guilty for everything that had happened, like it was his fault that I was shot. I felt really bad for worrying him, but he's been fretting over me ever since then."

"Ever since I got home he won't stop bugging me and making sure that I'm not in any pain, so I had to make him swear that he wouldn't come into my room and bother me once I went to bed, just so that he wouldn't see that I've slipped out to come and see you. Heh, it's almost like he's been possessed by another person if I'm being honest."

Marinette and Adrien both chuckled. It was at least heartwarming to know how much Gabriel was concerned over him, and that there would be a close eye watching his recovery.

"Well, I-I'm really happy that you're feeling better Adrien. Seriously, I was really scared for you when I first brought you in..." she spoke in a low voice, hoping that her parents wouldn't hear them talking. "But, if you're recovering well and you're back home with your dad, th-then why'd you come here? You've seemed really on edge since you arrived."

While she hadn't put much thought to it, she had noticed the way his green eyes seemed glossy this entire time, along with his general demeanor being uneasy. His hands lightly trembled, he was tensed as he sat, and his expression looked as if he was trying to stay calm to mask distress underneath it. In fact, everything about his health screamed unwell. Perhaps it was the curse, but she could see a sort of shift in his physical health beginning to appear, along with his mental health.

Adrien cast his gaze down at his lap as if trying to hide his emotions, to which Marinette stubbornly reached out and gripped his hand, attempting a gesture of support.

"It's okay, you can tell me," she murmured.

After another moment passed, he lifted his head back up to meet her eyes and explained, "Ever since you put the Lucky Charm against the source of the curse, it's effects have been much more degraded than normal, and the nightmares have been a lot more tame. When I got home today, Plagg and I decided that we would remove the Lucky Charm to see if our theory was correct. I took off the bandage, went to sleep, and had one of m-my worst dreams yet... "

He paused to nervously swallow the lump in his throat, as if preparing himself just to recall a mere dream. It reminded Marinette of when she had to tell him what happened after he was shot, and the two of them gripped each other's hands harder.

"We were fighting a gang of criminals. Rena Rouge, Queen Bee, and Carapace were all with us, but they were unable to fight anymore. I saw them all o-on the ground bleeding and... I d-din't know if they were dead or alive. We were transformed and about to fight, b-but you turned to me smiling, kissed me on the cheek, and then ran at the criminals to stop them. I tried to run over to fight with you, but I couldn't move. My feet were stuck to the ground, which happens a lot in my dreams... the g-gang outnumbered you, and I had to w-watch as they... th-they..."

Marinette put her hand against Adrien's mouth to silence him, when he began growing anxious at the memory. If it was this hard for him to explain, then maybe she wouldn't even want to know what the end results were. He stared back at her with an emotional gaze, one that came from that of someone who has been through unimaginable pain. His eyes read sadness and regret, but also a sort of numb, apologetic aura.

 _He's been through so much..._ she thought with despair.

The pigtailed girl slowly removed her hand from where it covered his lips, and said to Adrien quietly, "It's okay, you don't need to finish. I-I understand that you would have come here for some comfort, but that can't be the sole reason you leaped across rooftops with a healing bullet wound, just to get to me... right?"

The blonde smiled at Marinette with a gentle affection, and took her one hand with both of his. This triggered a red blush surrounding her freckles, as Adrien said to her, "If I'm being honest, Marinette, I would fight through any pain or obstacle, if it meant protecting you from harm."

She was taken aback by this statement of such fondness, and despite first wondering if this was the cause of some kind of deliriousness, his facial features seemed more awake when he said that to her than they had throughout his entire time in her room.

He must have been speaking right from the heart.

"W-Well if you're here like this, we m-may as well talk about the curse," Marinette suggested, setting aside the sweet remark for the time being. "Is it still hurting you? Do you have a-any idea of a cure yet?"

Adrien and Plagg exchanged a knowing glance, and they both shook their heads.

The cat kwami explained, "We've tried a few different things to try and get the nightmares to stop, but none of them have worked. The best that we have is a special ailment that the Master gave to him, but even then, Adrien said it's getting more difficult to tell his dreams and reality apart."

Marinette swallowed fearfully.

"Is that true?"

He nodded. Plagg flew over to join Tikki's side.

"Even if I realize that I'm having a nightmare, which has only happened twice, it's not like I can wake up before it's over. I'm still forced to sit through it and watch a terrible vision," he said. "The longer this goes on, the more often I get hallucinations, panic attacks, or the spot on my chest hurts me..."

She put an inquisitive finger against her chin at the mention of his scar. She knew it had appeared based on where he was initially struck by Lucid's magic, and the longer this curse affected him, the more large and painful it became for him. Marinette felt such a deep urge to help lift these burdens from him, it was like it was consuming her.

Hesitantly, she asked him, "I-I know that this might be k-kind of awkward for you, and you c-can say no, but... could I s-see the scar?"

Both of the teenagers knew that in order to solve this together, they needed to work as a team more than ever, meaning that they both needed to have the same amount of information; even if that sometimes led to uncomfortable situations for both of them.

Adrien's cheeks flushed pink, before giving her a nod and then beginning to remove the shirt that he wore to expose his chest. Marinette forced herself to keep a straight face, and not focus on the fact that _Adrien Agreste_ was removing his shirt while in her bedroom, and she probably looked more red than a ripe cherry.

 _Oh my god what the hell am I doing why did he agree to this?_

Despite the difficulty, she forced herself to find composure, and to focus on what they were here to do.

The black crack-like markings on his chest were just as horrifying as the first time she had laid eyes on them, seemingly etched into his skin like a tattoo, and yet somehow striking deeper. It looked as if it had a darkening grip on his thread of life, and at any moment, it could destroy it. The scar made them both uneasy, simply by looking at it.

Tentatively, Marinette reached out and gently placed her fingers against his skin. The markings felt like cold-nothingness beneath her touch; without texture, warmth, or life.

She took in a quivering breath, unsure of how to manage this situation. It seemed like the curse had now been with Adrien long enough to the point that it had engraved itself into his very being, slowly but surely withering him away with torment. Finally, she drew her fingers back from his chest and looked back up at his tired features, her eyes glossy.

"This is r-really bad..." she told him softly. "We'll have to keep trying to find a solution before its too late, but right now I don't know what we can do. Just keep taking the Master's medication to help, and don't let the nightmares turn you into something that you're not. Until then, we'll keep searching."

The blonde teenager slowly nodded in understanding, and let out a heavy sigh.

"It's just... everything's getting so much harder, Marinette," he murmured to her. "The pain, the terror, the near hopelessness. It's starting to become too much, and if I'm being honest I don't know how much longer I can last like this."

She narrowed her eyes with worry and lifted her hand to cup one of Adrien's cheeks.

"Don't say that, we'll figure this out," she insisted.

He shook his head.

"It's true though! What Plagg said back when I first got this damn magic cast on me was right, I'm starting to feel like I'm going crazy! I see things that aren't real, and yet most of the time I don't know was it and what isn't. I've had to endure so much sudden agony in these past months that it's like I'm growing numb to the nightmares, the panic, the pain, _all of it!_ I sleep every night and yet I still always feel exhausted, I see you die so often but it still hurts like hell every time, and if this keeps going and only gets worse, then I... I j-just..."

His raising voice slowly came back down to an eventual silence, and Marinette hesitantly removed her hand from the blonde's face. The kwamis were watching on with wide, fearful eyes, and Plagg murmured, "Kid... the curse wasn't being this terrible for you back at the hospital. What happened?"

There was no response. His entire body trembled and his hands were clenched into fists. His distressed, teary gaze latched onto the bluebell one across from him, and she gave him a gentle nod. It was okay.

 _It's okay to let yourself loose like you never thought you would._

 _It's okay to cry like you'll never stop, especially if those feelings need to be let out._

 _Adrien... my Chaton..._

 _It's okay to break._

And he broke.

Adrien finally let go, as he curled in on himself on her bed covers and tears began to practically pour from his eyes. Choking sobs escaped his throat and shook his entire body, as his overwhelming emotions that had seemingly been building up were being released.

Marinette watched on in a sad silence, gently placing a comforting hand against his back as he hunched over and cried. She couldn't help but wonder if this despair that was being let out of him had begun to build up since before he had been cursed.

Could it have started with his isolation? Or his troublesome father? With a twinge of guilt, she also wondered to herself if perhaps Ladybug affected him in any way. He expressed his passionate love for her so many times, and if it hadn't been for the incident that led to their identities being revealed, she would likely have continued to shoot down Chat Noir's flirts and comments on how cute of a couple they'd make.

Knowing now that he was Adrien changed everything, but could continuously being rejected by the one he loved most have had an effect on him?

His shaking sobs eventually began to ease into a lighter whimpering, and when Marinette murmured a sympathetic apology to him, he reached forward and pulled her into a gentle embrace. She could feel some of his tears still falling from his chin to her shoulder, but she did not care and she knew that this was something that Adrien had to release.

She found herself leaning into his arms, clutching the back of his shirt tighter and letting out a sigh, partially of sadness and partially of bliss. His hold made her feel safe, like as long as she had him by her side then she would always be protected. She wished that she could give him that feeling of warm safety as well; replace the fear that had begun to take over his heart.

"Do you w-want to stay here for the night?" Marinette offered him.

Adrien shook his head and responded quietly, "No, my father will surely notice that I'm missing if I'm gone for that long. I can't risk it at a time like this, no matter how much I want to stay."

The two of them pulled back from their tight hug, and by one closer look at the face of the boy across from her, she knew that he was right now not in a good enough condition to be traveling home via rooftop by himself. His green eyes looked dreary and desperately in need of a good rest, his skin was pale, and his cheeks still remained slicked with tear tracks.

She sighed sadly.

"You tell me that you've been getting a full sleep every night, and yet the closer I look, the more I see how much you look like hell. Maybe it came out after all of the crying, I don't know, but you are most certainly _not_ going home in this condition. You'll most likely pass out on some random rooftop before you even make it there," Marinette insisted to him, placing her grip onto his shoulder.

"I'm starting to think that this curse is having a toll on your physical health, and I know that whether you stay awake, or fall asleep and have a nightmare, both will cause very negative effects. However, right now I think sleeping is our best bet. It will still help you stay rested, and get you some of your energy back. Even if you're seeing awful visions, I don't want your health to get too bad before we can find a cure, and I think continuing to sleep when you need to might be our best option."

Adrien stared at her in an astonished, almost dumbfounded silence for a few moments, before sighing and irritably rubbing two fingers against his eyes. If he wanted to be home before morning, then by all means he could be home before morning, but in those moments they both knew that he wasn't going anywhere.

Plagg worriedly flew over to join them, turned to his holder and said, "Your house isn't too far from here, can't you make it there as Chat Noir? If you fall asleep while you're here, you won't have the Master's pills to protect you from having another nightmare!"

The blonde sighed and gave his kwami a small smile, patting his head.

"I know Plagg, and I really appreciate that you and Marinette are so worried, but she's right. I'm in no stable condition to be running across rooftops, so I need to lay low here until w-we can..."

His words suddenly drifted off and became replaced by a heavy yawn. She understood his exhaustion, it was nearly midnight and he had already fallen asleep and woke up again once that night. The pigtailed girl held onto her very lethargic partner, and she went to lay him down but he violently shook his head.

"I... I wanna sleep, b-but I d'n wanna have 'nother nightmare... can't watch y'die again..." Adrien slurred.

Marinette couldn't help but shudder when he said he couldn't watch her die _again_ , but right now based on how quickly his energy was depleting, she could tell that Fatal Dreaming _must_ be taking an effect on him in some way. What other explanation could there be?

Both kwamis hovered beside her as she lay him out across the top of her bed, and he continued to mumbled things that they couldn't quite make out.

As his eyes began to flutter shut, she leaned toward him and whispered, "I'm sorry to do this to you Adrien, but you need sleep. I promise that I'll stay here beside you, and I'll wake you up if you're having a nightmare."

She placed a gentle kiss onto his cheek, and his head gave a light nod in response to what she said, before his body went still and his breathing showed the signs of being truly asleep.

"Are you sure this will be okay Marinette?" Tikki asked her in a concerned tone. "This could end up tormenting Adrien even more than what he's already seen..."

The girl looked up to the kwamis. Tikki's blue eyes shone with worry, and Plagg was now closer to his holder, murmuring words of encouragement to both himself and the sleeping boy. Her fingers tightened into a fist against the fabric of her pajama bottoms. She knew almost better than anyone how bad it was for Adrien to sleep at all in the state that he was in, but seeing as how much his physical traits had begun to get negatively affected, she knew that getting enough rest was essential if they had any hope of finding their cure.

In response to Tikki's question, Marinette wiped away the moisture beginning to build in her eyes and replied, "What choice have we got?"

 _I hate this, we all hate this, but we have to keep going no matter how bad it gets. We need to fight to defeat this curse._

She pulled herself over to where her beautiful partner lay, and gently brushed strands of his golden hair off of his forehead. The moon was now filtering a gentle, silvery light into her darkened room, showing signs of being late into the evening, however she swore that she would not move from where she sat until he had woken up from his dream.

She would stay by his side for any fight.

 _I refuse to let him lose._

* * *

 **A/N:** There's your cliffhanger for the month, we'll just have to wait and see what happens next! ;)

Many thanks as always for reading and enjoying, I love you all to pieces! Please leave a review with your thoughts and opinions, it makes me so happy to read them! See you again next month for something a little more special!


	16. Chapter 16: Fairytale

**A/N:** I'll keep this short and sweet.

*Ahem*

I'M SO SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING FOR SO LONG!

Now that my long overdue apology is done... HI GUYS! I'M BACK, I TOLD YOU I WOULDN'T GIVE UP ON THIS FIC!

I've got a few things to say beforehand! The reason I've been so quiet about this chapter and how WAY overdue it is, is simply because my real life has been busier lately than I've ever experienced before in my entire life :/ I was heavily involved in a musical production for a few weeks from March to April, once that was finished I received an absolute downpour of assignments, reports, projects, etc. from school that kept going on and on and never gave me a break until a couple weeks ago, I took drivers-ed for a few weeks at the start of May with a total class time of 20 hours, AND to top it all off my family has constantly had events planned every other weekend and there were a ton of school trips. Long story short, I had LITTLE TO NO FREE TIME FOR ALMOST 2 MONTHS, and it was really killer guys I tell ya, but I manage to pull through with strong grades, I finally got this very long-ass chapter finished, and the workload has finally settled into a smaller amount :')

So yeah, I normally try to finish a chapter in 3-4 weeks with the typical schedule that I have, but this time it just wasn't possible. Now when it come to the future of this fic's updates I am unsure, because I am actually going away to work at a kids camp for nearly the entire two months of my summer (I know I know, it's sucks that I have to grow up and get a summer job X3). I'm working and living at an outdoor camp without internet for 7 weeks, and I do get 4 weekends off to spend at home, but basically I won't have access to internet very much for July and August. My solution to this is that in my free time at the camp, I'm going to write down the future chapters into a notebook so that I can transfer them to a computer later on, but sadly I think you guys should expect no updates over the summer. I will try my best to finish one more chapter by the end of June, but no promises!

Anyway, with all of the update bullcrap out of the way, the new chapter is finally here! This is one that I've been looking forward to for a long time, and is made as a way to conclude the romantic subplot between Marinette and Adrien that's been an active focus since chapter 11. This chapter mainly focuses on them working out their supportive relationship and how they will carry it to the future, and note this is the LONGEST CHAPTER TO DATE, so strap in! After this one is over, the rest of the story will be back to focusing on Adrien's curse, but I believe you'll all like this chapter very much ;)

Just a quick disclaimer: I don't know anything about schooling systems in France. Personally, I live in Canada, where our school years finish in June and our schools will host special dances or formals for the students a few times a year as fun events. So that is what I have applied in this chapter, please do not judge me if I'm terribly terribly wrong ^^' Also, some of the newer characters to the show such as Kagami and Luka do get a mention in this chapter. I absolutely love both of them, but I wanted to find a way to keep them out of this story, so that's what I did. Case closed!

Thank you _so so much_ for the endless patience and support you guys give to me! I love you all so much for taking the time to read, and your words truly do motivate me further! Without further adieu, please enjoy this new chapter! 3

* * *

 **Minor Chapter Warnings:**

\- Profanity

\- Minor anxiety attacks

-Minor injuries and fake death

-Enough fluffiness to kill a man

* * *

 _A shudder like the most icy cold rippled through his spine. The moment Adrien could feel his consciousness slipping into the waking world, there was one thing that he immediately knew: something wasn't right._

 _It was a sense that he had grown accustomed to recognizing in certain situations of displeasure. The kind of recognition that crawled through his veins like a nest of spiders, which sent a shiver through every nerve ending in his body like some kind of crazy sixth-sense. A strong emotion that rarely appeared, but would always scream to his mind, "Something is off, be careful!"_

 _He attempted to move. To twitch his fingers, to open his eyes, to speak, to do_ ** _something_** _, but all that he could muster was taking in one breath at a time as his shivering body refused to attempt motion. The blond could feel himself laying down against a cold and hard surface, like stone or metal, and could hear the dripping of water from various directions. The smell was dank and unpleasant, like an old cave or an abandoned mine of sorts, and, as he continued to wake up, also realized that he could hear something. A familiar sound..._

 _A familiar_ ** _voice_** _._

 _'Marinette!'_

 _It didn't take Adrien long to pinpoint where he recognized the sweet tone of hers. However, despite her voice being endlessly beautiful, the only thing that he could hear from her was cries of pain and sadness, the echo of her whimpers ricocheting off of what sounded like the walls of a hallway, just barely reaching his ears. She sounded like she was in trouble, or being attacked, and his immediate instinct was to protect her._

 _'Dammit, just open your eyes!' he commanded himself. 'Move!'_

 _With much greater effort than what would be normally required, the teen's eyelids finally managed to lift, and the rest of his body seemed to activate with them. He stiffly moved his arms to push his laid down body into a seated position, all while gazing at the strange and unnerving scene around him._

 _As predicted, Adrien had been laying on the cool, damp floor of an old stone cell. It appeared like it was pulled straight from the pages of a medieval fiction, with droplets of water falling from every possible crack, and only a small amount of light filtering into the darkness from who-knows-where, increasing the prison's eeriness. Pushing aside his confusion and dread that gnawed away at him, he reminded himself to focus and gather his bearings before finding out Marinette's location._

 _Looking down at himself, Adrien realized that he was relatively unharmed. With the exception of a few scratches, his typical clothes and health remained in tact, and once he finally got his body up and moving, it was as easy as ever. Like something - or some_ ** _one_** _\- had simply tossed his body into this cell and used some kind of force to keep him down by the time he awoke._

 _'How is that even possible?' he thought with pure bewilderment._

 _'...'_

 _'Come to think of it, how did I get here?'_

 _Previous memories as to what led Adrien to this place were foggy. He recalled being with Marinette in her bedroom, but not much after that._

 _The blond shook his head, annoyed with himself as he thought, 'I can't worry about that right now. Something is happening to Mari, I don't know where I am or how I got here, and the only thing that can help me right now is to escape with her to find answers!'_

 _Once accounting for himself, he turned his head to examine the bars of the cell; he had to find a way out of here. However, upon sight Adrien quickly realized what must have either been a mistake, a trap, or a gateway to freedom... and answers!_

 _The cell door was wide open._

 _The metal bars were fully unlocked and gifting him with the opportunity to escape, as if it were holding arms out to him. No explanation, just an open door._

 _Another heartbreaking whimper echoed the halls._

 _Without a further thought toward how and why the cell was failing in its purpose of trapping him there, he sprinted out of the stone room and used all of his strength to listen for where Marinette was coming from. She sounded distant, but also not far, as if something was distorting her voice from just a hallway or two down._

 _Adrien took a right turn in the dim, stone halls that filled the strange place. He could hear the light groans and cries of his partner, and ran as quietly as he could with all of his focus pointed toward her rescue._

 _"Marinette?" the blond called out in a hushed tone._

 _When his only response was another inaudible murmur of distress, he approached the area where she seemed to be coming from closer. He tried again._

 _"M-Mari, are you there? It's Adrien, I'm here t-to save you!"_

 _He tried to mask the obvious fear in his voice. Whatever brought and trapped them here could return at any given moment, and with no kwamis or idea of their location, the two heroes were practically worthless in this scenario._

 _Adrien felt_ ** _terrified_** _._

 _"... Ch-Chaton?" a weak gasp appeared in response. "Is that you? He-Help me please! Save me!"_

 _He felt his heart leap with emotion. Joy? Anxiety? Relief? He couldn't tell._

 _The blond raced as quickly and quietly as he could, calling back and forth with Marinette's weak voice. After what felt like eternity, he finally reached a locked cell in a darker hallway, and laid eyes on her familiar bluebell gaze. She stood against the bars at the cell's edge, hair pulled down in mild tangles against her shoulders, and tears and shreds in her clothes. Bloody lacerations and bruises were strewn across her skin, and he wondered with resentment who damaged her body like this while he lay sleeping in some random cell. However seeing that she was standing and responsive was enough for Adrien, and his lips lifted into a light smile once he found her._

 _Somehow, he swore he would find them a way out of here. He wouldn't hesitate to do it for her._

 _He made a beeline straight for his Lady a moment after eye contact, and he felt her release a breath of relief as they shared a mildly awkwardly embrace through the bars between them. Adrien felt such powerful urges to protect this girl that it was almost overwhelming, and once he drew back he brushed a hand against her cold, freckled cheek._

 _"Marinette, what happened? Tell me everything you remember while I try to break you out of here!" he practically demanded._

 _The teenage girl wrapped a shaking hand around his wrist, averting her gaze uneasily. With his other hand, Adrien reached for the edge of her cell and tried to pry it open somehow._

 _She responded, "I-I don't know! The last thing I remember is being in my room with you, but after that everything's a blur. I don't know how w-we got here, or where Tikki is and I'm s-so scared Adrien!"_

 _'Dammit, so she can't remember anything either?'_

 _He interlaced his fingers with her trembling ones in an attempt to calm her. Smiling, he responded, "It'll be alright Princess, just try to calm down. I'm going to get us out of here, I promise."_

 _She swallowed, still quivering, but nodded to him a moment later._

 _Releasing his hand from her grip, Adrien grasped the edge of the bars that held Marinette captive and continued to pull. There was no visible lock on the cell, so maybe it was hidden in some way, but he grew desperate. He swore he could feel the door starting to wiggle, and remembering the way that his cell was wide open when he awoke gave him hope._

 _"It's no use!" Marinette insisted. "I tried to break out of here, but the door won't open somehow. You'll have to find another way, b-but please Adrien!"_

 _"C-Come on Mari, I'm trying my best! There has got to b-be some way to get you out of here!"_

 _Her voice shook violently, "I can't r-remember anything, I'm so scared! Please g-get me out of here!"_

 _Adrien's stomach threatened to heave with anxiety._

 _"Marinette-"_

 _"_ ** _Save me Chaton!_** _"_

 _At her distressed cry, the world around the teenage boy suddenly seemed to freeze. His urgent tugging at the cell released, his eyebrows furrowed in realization, and that unsettling feeling returned to him. The feeling that made the entire situation sit like a stone in his chest, creating something heavy that seethed with anticipation, and told him that this just... wasn't right._

 _'Being at Marinette's house is my last clear memory. Everything else after that is a blur, and I can't remember anything about how I wound up here. I'm in a strange place, it's only me and her, and she's... she's_ ** _begging_** _me to save her.'_

 _He slowly approached the front of Marinette's cell. He watery blue eyes locked with his, and as he grasped her hands again, a single scared tear slid down her cheek. Rubbing his thumbs reassuringly against her skin, he silently observed its fairness._

 _'She's warm, and I can physically feel her touch,' he noticed._

 _To any other person, they would feel like normal, smooth human hands. Although, to Adrien, they felt like anyone_ ** _but_** _Marinette's hands. As they had grown closer, primarily with the days she had spent visiting him at his hospital bedside, he had grown very fond of the firm, comforting hold that her hands would always have against his._

 _This just... wasn't that. It was an oddly foreign touch, lacking of any true emotion beneath the surface aside from terror, and even that began to come off as more of a show as the moments dragged on._

 _There was only one situation that the teen could imagine where even Marinette was lacking in life. One in which the touch was fake, the memories were clouded, and the fear was the core._

 _'This is just like..."_

 _Adrien's green gaze narrowed directly into the girl across from him._

 _"A nightmare."_

 _Something clicked. She cocked her head to the side with confusion, her grip on his hands loosening._

 _"What do you mean, Adrien?" she asked innocently._

 _He wasn't buying that. He knew something was very wrong._

 _"Marinette, tell me the truth_ ** _right now_** _," he pressed her. "Is this a dream?"_

 _Releasing her hold from him, the fists of the teenage girl began to clench tight enough to turn her knuckles white. Her gaze transformed into a deeper distress that was pinpointed right at him; a contagious suffering that she tried to press into the depths of his soul. Her whole body seemed to emit fear like smoke clouding the hallways, causing the blond to flinch._

 _"Of course this isn't a dream! Look at me, do you really think I would lie to you? Do you think this is fake?" She slammed her fists anxiously against the metal bars, tears welling in her eyes. "P-Please Adrien, get me out of here! I'm so scared!"_

 _It hurt. God, it hurt so bad, like a knife twisting in his gut. However, deep down, he knew that this wasn't her; this wasn't_ ** _his_** _Marinette. His Marinette was clumsy and yet strong-willed. Jumpy and yet brave. Awkward and yet caring. He knew that if she were in this situation, she would be searching for a way to help him find her an escape. She would be focused, determined, and confident, not wailing and begging in distress for him to find a way to rescue her. It was like someone had used Marinette as a base to mould a second, less accurate version of the real her._

 _Marinette, and Ladybug for that matter, was_ ** _not_** _a damsel in distress!_

 _She was a heroine!_

 _"I-I'm sorry..."_

 _With a quick apology to Dream-Marinette, Adrien forced himself to turn around and run. Where? He didn't know, just somewhere. Anywhere through the twisting and turning hallways that held him captive in what he knew must be a dreamscape._

 _It had to be, right?_

 _Dream-Marinette was screaming now; in anguish but not pain. It echoed off the walls of the endless cavern and seemed to have the same level of volume in Adrien's ears, no matter how far he ran. It felt like he was going in circles, round and round in a never ending loop of misery. There were dozens of other cells, old stone and metal combined to give it an old-fashioned appearance, however they all lay empty. All that overtook his senses was the crying and desperate wailing of the distressed girl, wanting nothing more than her partner in crime to break her out and leave this place. To save her, just as he always had, and swore he would always do._

 _However under these circumstances, he knew he couldn't. There would be no point. With the knowledge that he now had, all of his focus was pointed on finding an escape from the dark place. Or even better: waking up._

 _'If I'm really dreaming, does that mean I'm with the real Marinette?' his mind suddenly wondered. 'If I make enough of a reaction in my sleep, will she wake me up? Can she get me out of here?'_

 _He began to rack his brain for a way to contact the waking world through his dreaming; this_ ** _must_** _be a dream! Cutting into his thoughts, however, he heard something that he felt like he had heard before._

 _"You are a wise one, dear Adrien, and yet not wise enough."_

 _His sprinting feet came to an abrupt halt as a cold voice suddenly replaced the heart-aching screams from Dream-Marinette. His chest heaved and his blood rushed through his body from his desperate sprinting, but he now wiped at his sweat-slicked forehead with the back of his hand and soaked in the silence._

 _The dripping of water was gone, the wails had subsided, and the eerie bellow that had briefly spoken up had not yet returned. Unsettled, Adrien gazed around the darkened hallways, searching for the source of the strangely familiar voice that had been taunting him mere moments ago._

 _His ears had gone from nearly bursting, to an eerie silence._

 _The blond shifted his gaze 180 degrees to look behind him in the hallway. There was nothing in the space, it was just as cold, stone and dead as it had appeared before._

 _The deep, echoing voice spoke up again, "You are beginning to understand this great horror of yours now, and yet right as you have figured it out, you have chosen to desperately run from your fears. No destination in mind, no compromise, simply fleeing."_

 _His body tensed and his spine shivered._

 _The dark tone that taunted him snaked its way into his eardrums, a reverberation of its words playing in his head like it was made of trampolines for a playground of sound waves._

 _Adrien swiftly spun around, looking back down at where he had been running to a minute before. A dark figure had abruptly appeared in the path ahead of him, strikingly similar to the one that had appeared one nightmare and tortured Marinette, who he now had held above the ground in a tight grip around her throat._

 _"You..." the teen hissed in barely more than a whisper._

 _The longer he stared the more he realized how much this strange person really was the same figure as that previous nightmare: tall, surrounded by purple and black shadows that never failed to envelop his body, and a hauntingly deep tone. Now, he smashed Dream-Marinette's body against the stone walls of the cavern, sending a dangerously loud crack into the air, and she whimpered as the man's grasp tightened against her neck._

 _Adrien knew that she wouldn't last much longer, however as he prepared to take a step toward her, his brain reminded him that this was all just one bad dream, and his true partner was perfectly safe. As he hesitated, the shadowed man tilted his head over to mock him again._

 _"I am surprised to see you sticking around. After all, it seems like cowardly running away from your anxieties is what you're best at."_

 _Marinette was struggling to breathe. She was dying right in front of his eyes all over again._

 _"Now I wouldn't call that very heroic of you, hm?"_

 _He could feel his body starting to shake, and yet he couldn't tell why. Despite being addressed by the figure, he couldn't pull his eyes away from where Dream-Marinette was slowly running out of air, beginning to flail and gasp and silently beg as her clock of life was ticking away._

 _The shadowy man was right, he really was just running away from his fears._

 _"Adrien!"_

 _A tear slid down his cheek, his feet frozen to the stone floor. He really was just a coward._

 _"H-Hey, Adrien, wake up!"_

 _Dream-Marinette's eyes rolled into her head, and her body went slack. A single, narrowed green eye flashed behind the darkness of the figure's body._

 _Adrien felt nothing but fear._

* * *

With a jolt, Adrien's eyelids shot open and he let out a shaking gasp. He could feel a cold sweat wrapping around his body, and his chest was heaving as if he had just been running a marathon.

Well, he supposed that he just was, in his dream.

His gaze was facing upward toward the roof, and he realized that Marinette's worried expression was hovering over him, as she looked down where Adrien lay quivering beneath her. His heart was still at an accelerated rate, and he desperately tried to get the image of her dying body out of his head. Having to watch his partner getting attacked once again because of his own foolishness was terribly painful, even with the knowledge that he was trapped in a nightmare.

It hurt him just as badly as getting shot had.

As the teenager let out a weary sigh and held back the sting of tears, he focused on bringing his heart rate and breathing back to a normal state. It was a routine that he and Plagg had begun to practice whenever he woke up from his sleep in a panic or in tears: lay still, control your breathing, remember that you are awake and she didn't die.

Admittedly, it worked well for him whenever a night terror would occur, and being right by her side helped to calm him down even more.

Marinette frowned and gently brushed aside some strands of his hair from his damp forehead. It felt soothing.

"Another rough dream?" she inquired quietly. Adrien gently nodded in response.

"Figur'd out that I was dreamin'... still h'dta w-watch you die though," he murmured somberly. "Th-Thanks for wakin' me up."

The girl nodded to him silently, continuing to run her fingers through his hair to allay his unease. No words were needed between them, they both knew what had happened and found no need to elaborate. The silence between the pair as Marinette gently stroked Adrien's blond locks and he took shuddering breaths was all they really needed in those moments. They just needed each other.

Eventually, after the passing of many minutes, the teenage boy let out a grunt and began to lift himself from where his head rested in Marinette's lap. His chest and his head ached with fatigue, which was strange considering that he had just been asleep.

 _Should I really even question it at this point?_ he thought despondently.

She kept a grip on his shoulder as he brought himself slowly up onto his knees, and sighed before briefly examining his surroundings.

Aside from a small lamp that she had kept lit, Marinette's room was engulfed in barely-lit shadows that promised to be from the very depths of the night. Tikki and Plagg lay beside one another, curled up snugly and fast asleep atop one of the shelves above the pink bed. Adrien observed how cute the two kwamis really were, and felt a pang of regret that he would shortly have to wake Plagg in order to return home.

"Have you been awake this whole time?" he asked worriedly.

Marinette nodded to him in response, "I knew that there was a high possibility of you having a nightmare. I know how badly they affect you, so I wanted to make sure that I could wake you up if anything happened."

Adrien lowered his head, taking in a breath to tell her how despite her best efforts, there wasn't a lot that she could do to help him fix this curse, because he knew that no matter what happened he had to solve this mess by himself, however she stopped him before he could speak by squeezing his hand once more.

"Don't even try to tell me that I shouldn't be helping you out Adrien," she stated with a light chuckle. "I get that you're the only one who can truly fix yourself, but that d-doesn't mean you can't let other people who care help you through it. What Lucid- no, what _Hawkmoth_ has done to you is just awful, and I want this to be cured just as badly as you do. I c-care about you a lot Adrien, both as yourself and as Chat Noir, and I always have. I can't stand the thought of losing you, so... please, just let me help you. I want to be with you through this, and I want us to leave this behind and go forward together!"

The young hero felt at a loss for words, the sadness beginning to lift from his heart. He was sure that a heavy blush was now dancing upon his cheeks, as Marinette stared back at him with a hard intensity in her eyes. After a few moments, he felt his lips curl into a smile.

"Yeah, now I can definitely see that you're Ladybug. I was just super oblivious before," he joked.

"Adrien, I'm serious!"

"I know, I know..."

He gripped his partner's hand and lowered his head wearily, pondering his thoughts for a few moments now that the image of his nightmare had been left behind.

Adrien hesitated before explaining, "I understand Marinette. I know that there's no point in trying to pry you away from this anymore, no matter how much I want to protect you. And honestly... I'm so, so grateful for that. Really, I don't know what kind of a state I would be in if I didn't have you at my side."

He paused to place a soft kiss on the back of her hand.

"But Fatal Dreaming makes me see my biggest fear over and over again, so I... I guess after watching you get hurt so many times, I'm starting to get scared that something may really happen to you in real life. Hell, you saw first hand what Gunslinger did to me. What if he goes after you next? We're heroes, Marinette, anything could be thrown at us for us to fight!"

There was a few seconds before she reacted.

"Then I guess I just can't let that happen, can I?"

The blond, surprised, lifted his head up to meet a sudden smile on her face. She looked relaxed; confident in her decision.

"W-What?"

"I won't let it happen. I plan on living for a long time Adrien, I'm not going to let any old akuma kill me anytime soon," she reassured. "I promise I'm going to stay by your side until the very end."

His lips began forming into a subtle smile, her words settling around his heart like a reassuring barrier from the darkness within.

"Don't make promises you can't necessarily keep, Marinette."

The pigtailed girl eyed him for a moment, before taking both of her arms and wrapping them around his neck gently, pulling him into a hug for what felt like the millionth time. He accepted the gesture gratefully.

Barely a whisper, Marinette told him, "I swear to you, I will fight to keep this promise for as long as I can. I want to help you through this curse so that we can recover together, I want to keep fighting akumas with you until we can choose successors together, I..."

Adrien heard her breath abruptly hitching in her throat with emotion.

"I w-want... to be with you. So please, let me help you, and you'll be helping me as well."

He made sure to hold onto this moment and lock it in the safest memory storage of his mind. Adrien wanted to remember this in the future, he wanted to remember every moment of what this amazing girl was promising to him. Her voice was calming and sweet, her hair lightly tickled his cheek and smelled of spring flowers, the feeling of her hugs was one of the most comforting he had ever experienced, and he leaned further into it.

Adrien never wanted to leave Marinette's embrace. It made him truly feel safe, loved, and hopeful, as if all of his nightmares were but a distant memory.

"Thank you... my Lady," he murmured to her.

She didn't even complain this time.

* * *

The following Friday came speeding up much faster than Marinette and Adrien had been expecting, and before they knew it they were dressed up in semi-formal attire and were being driven by the Gorilla and Nathalie to their school's spring dance.

As the days had passed, Adrien had continued to recover from his horrible gun wound, with a watchful eye from his worried father. The lucky charm had long since disappeared, crumbling to pieces when he and Plagg removed the bandage before it later turned completely to dust, leaving the blond with slower healing and a higher risk of night terrors. Despite the panic-inducing visions and physical pain that the curse ailed him with, Adrien (with support from his kwami) found the strength to continue forward. He remained as positive as he could be at a time like this, despite the apprehension eating him away from the inside.

He wanted to keep going. He wanted to heal. For his friends and family. For himself.

For Marinette.

As for her, she had begun to help him at every possible turn ever since the one heartfelt night that they shared. Adrien had not slept safely by her side again, much to his dismay, however she had done her best to reassure him in times of need, staying near him at all possible times during their days at school and talking with him over the phone in the evenings. The blond had even gotten full permission from her to call her in the dead of the night if he ever woke up in the midst of a panic attack (which he unfortunately had had).

He appreciated her company so god damn much; so much more than he could ever express.

Collectively, Marinette and Adrien were putting together the ridiculous pieces to their puzzle. They were supporting each other as they pushed away the anxiety and continued on, and had now gained full acceptance of each other's identities. Adrien was practically infatuated with his both klutzy and yet noble partner, while Marinette grew extremely pleased toward realizing that she had been open to the blond's true, dorky colours this entire time, and she loved it!

Although the circumstances were not pleasant in the slightest, the two of them managed to derive happiness from each other. Even when the agony and dread seemed to be too much for any mortal being to bear, together they still found the will to smile.

And with still no sign of Gunslinger in the wrecked city, the civilians were starting to come out more often again, albeit scared and cautious. The duo knew that Paris needed Ladybug and Chat Noir again, and soon. For tonight, however, they had decided to let Plagg and Tikki remain at home, not wanting their superhero life to interfere with their normal school lives on a night like this.

"We will be here to pick you up again at 10:00 pm, sharp," Nathalie ordered the two of them upon their arrival to the school. "And please be careful of your wound, Adrien. Remember that you are still recovering."

They had been relatively quiet for the majority of the short ride, simply sitting hand in hand while lost in their own thoughts. Adrien and Marinette acknowledged the assistant, gave her and the Gorilla a quick thank you, before stepping out of the car onto the school's sidewalk and prepared to see what the evening held for them.

"Hey there you two!"

A familiar, upbeat voice almost immediately greeted them as they approached the stairs at the front of the building. Alya came strolling up to them with Nino by her side, dressed up in a bright red, black and white dress that went just past her knees, while her boyfriend wore a simple blue suit with a red tie and his traditional headphones around his neck.

Marinette grinned as they approached and replied, "Hey Alya! You and Nino look really great tonight!"

The blogger cocked up an eyebrow with clear curiosity in her gaze, as she scanned her eyes over the dress that her best friend showed off; said dress being the one that was hand-designed by Marinette herself, and appeared more formal than what may have been recommended for their schools students.

"Compared to you, girl? We wouldn't stand out against you even if we tried, the new dress looks fantastic!" Alya complimented with a wink.

It wasn't a lie, the dress looked outright stunning on the teenage girl, her hair having now been brought down to her natural length just past her shoulders as an addition to the look. With the layers of the skirt lifted just above her ankles, shaped into deep blue and silver waves like the ocean and a v-neck wrapped around the top of it, Adrien had no doubts in his mind that his partner looked absolutely gorgeous.

Marinette grew flustered and thankful at her dear friend's words, and they shared quick hug while Nino bro-fisted Adrien and then escorted his girlfriend into the building. Wishing to be a gentleman for his date to the dance, the blond held out his bent arm so that Marinette could hold it as they walked inside, and with a sweet smile she accepted the offer and held both hands firmly onto him.

Perhaps the tightness of the hold was added as a silent reminder of support for Adrien, and he smiled back at her in appreciation. "Let's just go in there and have a good time tonight, alright Mari?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," she said sweetly.

Another moment passed before Marinette's serene smile lifted into a cocky smirk. She leaned into his ear and whispered, "By the way, Alya and Nino?"

Adrien waited expectantly as she let out a fit of chuckles.

"They're Rena Rouge and Carapace!"

When the teenage boy felt his eyes go so wide with surprise that he thought they would burst from his head, Marinette broke out into giggles at his reaction. As shocked as he was by the news, it was at that moment that he decided her laughter was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

For the few hours that the school's dance was held, the teens managed to push aside their nagging fears and have a genuinely great time with their friends!

When they first stepped up into the building's courtyard, which was partially repairs from the damage that Gunslinger had caused, they were in awe at the amount of effort and brilliance that had been poured into the event by the staff! Spring-themed and Paris-themed decorations littered the walls and the dance floor, lights of many different colours spun and flashed around the room, two large decorated tables were lined up against the side wall and covered in refreshments, and a professional DJ was set up at his own table, with Nino already fawning all over his skills.

Marinette and Adrien separated from time to time to grab snacks or to chat with friends, but for the most part they stuck close to one another. Mylene had of course brought Ivan along as her date, while Juleka came with Rose, Alix paired up with Kim, and Nathaniel with Marc. When chatting with her classmates, Marinette found out that Luka, a former crush of hers and also Juleka's brother, didn't enjoy parties much and chose to stay behind, while a few other faces such as Kagami and Lila gave no explanation as to their absence.

Of course, they couldn't forget about the blonde troublemaker who _had_ shown up, dressed in an overly fancy white and gold dress.

"What do you think you're doing Dupain-Cheng?!"

It wasn't long into the event that the pair was seated on a bench, when Chloe appeared with Sabrina at her side and stormed up to them in a fit.

"What makes you think you can sit alone beside my Adrikins, and flirt with him like you're so special?" she questioned with her usual loud attitude. "You're just a klutsy baker girl, he should be spending more time with someone who he's best friends with, like me!"

Marinette rolled her eyes while Adrien let out a sigh. _Typical Chloe._

The teenage boy was quick to defend his date to the event, "Come on Chloe, I chose to come to this dance with Marinette. Can't you just leave her alone for tonight, let's all try to have a good time."

Adrien offered his long-time friend a smile, and, with a grunt, the mayor's daughter huffed, "Ugh, fine! But only for you Adrikins, I'll deal with it this one time."

Thankfully, she strutted off before any more harm came to be, and the two of them were left with amused smiles upon their faces.

"Can you seriously believe that girl is Queen B? I swear her sass levels are higher than her grades," Marinette quipped, resulting in an amused laugh from the blonde.

Minutes turned into hours, and the dance did anything but disappoint!

The music was upbeat, the friendships brought the fun, and the delicious snacks were a nice bonus! Adrien and Marinette joyfully danced the evening away and felt glad to have a time when they could just be ordinary teenagers again, without any bloody nightmares or violent akumas to stand in their way.

Finally, when a mere fifteen minutes remained before 10:00 pm, the two of them sat at the edge of the courtyard, on the floor with their backs pressed up against the wall and fruit punch in their hands. They were engaged in conversation, and slowly but surely they drew closer together until their arms were crossed over one another.

"And then, just as Style Queen had gained the upper hand and I lost the Bee Miraculous, Plagg appeared to help me since you were trapped in that barrier! He used Cataclysm and made the entire top half of the Eiffel Tower collapse!"

The teenage girl explained the story to Adrien with extremely animated hand motions, both of them beaming as they shared their relative stories that the other wouldn't know about.

"All of Paris slowly began to crumble from the sheer force of your kwami alone, I couldn't believe it! Luckily, I managed to use my Miraculous Ladybug in time to stop the destruction, and then you were released from being made of gold," she concluded.

Adrien put a hand against his forehead, as if racking his brain. "Man, I never knew so much happened during that fight. I don't have any memory of it, no wonder Style Queen was so powerful!"

A giggle released from Marinette as she tucked her knees closer to her chest, and took a final sip from her drink and set the cup to the floor. "Yeah, I seriously thought that she might beat me at the time! I hope we never have to deal with an akuma like her again."

She turned her head to face the middle of the room, where the students danced to the upbeat music. She lightly thrummed her fingertips to the floor in thought.

"Although, I suppose as Hawkmoth gets even better at using his powers, the villains we face will only get worse, won't they? I mean, look at Gunslinger, he's a legitimate powered-up human running around with a handgun. Even if it's not as hard to find his weakness like Style Queen, we still run the high chance of sustaining maj-"

She was abruptly cut short by a choking sound beside her, and Marinette turned alarmingly to see Adrien now on his knees and hunched over. His back was arched in pain, and she could see his knuckles going white as they gripped his shirt at the chest, his lungs forcing out a irritated gasp through his gritted teeth.

His eyes lacked any sign of moisture, and rather looked glassy and distant, as if he were asleep with his eyes wide open. It wasn't hard to figure out that the curse was hurting him.

Guilt flooded through Marinette as she lunged to his side.

 _Oh my god... Adrien's probably terrified of Gunslinger after what he did to him! Fuck, what was I thinking? I have to fix this!_

"Hey, hey," she murmured, gently rubbing his back as he panted out ragged breaths. "Y-You've gotta breathe okay? I know it's hard, I-I know whatever you're seeing is terrible, but I'm right here with you Adrien. You're safe, nothing's going to hurt you."

The blonde's breaths began regaining some control as she reassured him, however his whole body suddenly began to shake and one of his hands gripped the side of his neck.

"M-Marinette, i-i-it's..."

Worried, she grabbed his trembling hand and drew it back from his skin. There, dark purple and ever so slowly expanding, was the crack-like scar that they despised so much, devoid of light and growing larger with each day. Adrien had explained to her how the suit and tie he wore barely managed to safely cover all of the markings, but now it looked as if it had the threat of being seen by others.

Marinette felt a wave of shame wash over her, since she had supposedly triggered this by reminding him of their battle against Gunslinger. She sadly sighed, and gripped Adrien's hand as his breathing settled down and his anxiety and pain seemed to ebb.

"'S okay..."

He must have sensed her guilt, as she picked up on his raspy voice reassuring her.

The girl gave him an arm of support as he rose from his hunched position against the ground, and breathed, "I'm sorry, Adrien."

"It's alright Marinette. Really, it wasn't your fault that that happened just now."

She parted her lips to argue, but decided against it quickly and instead brought her date back against the wall to where he could properly rest. The two of them silently agreed not to engage further discussion on the matter, and Marinette settled herself into a comfortable position beside Adrien where she could rest her head against his shoulder and press against his side, attempting to comfort him. When he didn't argue, she hoped that it was alright.

Eventually, she whispered to him, "I'm not going anywhere. We'll make things okay again."

"... thank you," he breathed.

He didn't speak for nearly ten minutes, but when his expression slowly transformed into a relaxed smile and he held her hand tighter, she hoped that she had accomplished her job of calming him down.

"Marinette..." she finally heard him speak again, overtop of the booming music. "I know that our relationship has evolved really, and I mean _really_ quickly. Within two weeks we've gone from being close friends, to realizing that we've been working together as powerful partners in crime for well over a year now, and, well..."

Adrien took a deep breath, as if composing his thoughts. She listened intently, sitting close at his side.

"You've always meant so much to me, and on both sides of our lives you've played an important role. As Marinette, you were one of the kindest and most talented girls I've ever met, and even through your clumsiness you always found a way to help out others."

They chuckled at that comment, and she definitely didn't deny it.

"As Ladybug... well where do I even begin? You're brave, optimistic, intelligent, a symbol of hope, you're everything a leader should be. And now that I know about it, I can suddenly see all of those Ladybug qualities standing out in you too, Marinette. I can see you for all of you now, and..."

He took Marinette's hand in both of his. She felt as if her heart would melt, and she could recognize the feeling rushing through her veins as love. Her gazing eyes, clammy hands, and overwhelming happiness simply screamed, _"I love Adrien Agreste, I love Chat Noir, I want to be with him and embrace him, I want to protect him the way he always protects me!"_

Adrien gave her a gentle smile and breathed, "I hope we can continue to grow this relationship together."

The dark haired girl could feel herself beaming to the point that her cheeks hurt. A joyful sensation flowed through her, and she struggled to find the words to respond to such a caring statement. She hoped to whatever power that could hear her that he felt the same emotions that she did, swearing that what she felt was love.

"Thank you A-Adrien... so much. I never could have w-worded it that well, but I share those feelings toward y-you and Chat Noir as well!" she stammered. "I want to further our r-relationship as well, fighting akumas together and always keeping the other safe. I think... I think maybe it c-could work. Us, I mean."

They smiled. Their eyes gazed into one another's, Adrien's still somewhat glassy. Their peaceful expressions said a thousand words. Marinette and Adrien both cared about each other for who they were as a whole, and felt the urges to keep the other safe. Though their eyes spoke paragraphs, they each only heard a sentence caught in the space between them.

 _"I love you."_

Abruptly cutting into the moment, the DJ controlling the music suddenly caught the attention of all of the students.

"Attention ladies and gentlemen, the following song will be the last one of the evening, as per popular request. Thanks for coming out tonight and have a great summer vacation!"

After a courteous cheer for the guy, Marinette's eyes were dragged away from the boy across from her as she noticed duos of her classmates quickly starting to pair up. Alya and Nino we're approaching the dance floor hand in hand, Rose was tugging Juleka by the arm to come and dance with her, Mylene and Ivan were wrapping their arms around each other tenderly, as if preparing for a...

 _Slow dance._

The teenage girl realized with a flutter of nerves what was about to occur. This was a final romantic song for all of the couples in the room, and she couldn't help but question if her and Adrien could be considered as a couple yet. Marinette wanted to dance with him, just like they had way back at Chloe's party, she wanted to dance so badly. She could feel her heart swelling with the urge to wrap her arms tightly around the back of his neck, tuck her head gently against his chest where she could hear the steady beat of his heart, and never let go.

Marinette knew what she wanted, and she was sure that Adrien wanted to as well, but they technically weren't an actual couple yet.

 _What if we get kicked out by trying to dance during the song meant for the couples?_ her brain started spitting out ridiculous situations that worried her. _Or what if I try to start a romantic waltz with Adrien and he gets uncomfortable and leaves me? Or what if I trip over his foot and make a fool of myself? M-Maybe I should just see what he thinks first?_

She turned to the blond desperately to seek confirmation, half expecting Chloe to run up and drag him off to dance with her at any moment. When she surprisingly didn't, and he gained a full understanding of the situation as well, the world seemed to slow down in her eyes.

Adrien turned to her, eyes gentle and faintly rimmed-red.

Marinette offered a questioning smile, as if seeking permission to ask him.

When nothing was said between the two of them, Adrien delivered one of his perfect, heart-melting smiles, lowered his body in a small bow and held out his hand in an offer, very Chat Noir-esque, and asked her, "Shall we, Princess?"

Marinette could feel the intense blush rushing to her cheeks in those moments. As the soft tune of the music began to fill the courtyard, she happily smiled, took his hand, and let him lead her to the dance floor, all of her worries left behind in the spot where she had just sat.

The duo resumed what surprisingly felt like a familiar position for them: Adrien's hand wrapped around the waist of a now-content-Marinette, who placed her grip on his shoulder, and they grasped their free hands together before gently swaying back and forth to the beat of the music.

The world around them became completely tuned out; all that Adrien and Marinette knew was the gentle song, and each other. They both remembered their time dancing together the day that Despair Bear attacked at Chloe's party. Back then, all that existed between them was a solid friendship, a silly crush, and major obliviousness, and even then they still enjoyed swaying together.

Now, it only took the duo one minute of dancing in their standard position and gazing into each other's eyes to silently decide they could come closer together, and Marinette's hands wrapped around Adrien's neck as both of his came to her waist, and they embraced snugly. This was nearer than the two of them had ever been before, but as the dark haired girl rested her cheek against his shoulder and he only held her tighter, she felt more peaceful and safe than any other time she could ever remember.

"You know something that I had never thought of before?" Adrien inquired quietly, his chin gently resting against her head.

Marinette hummed peacefully in response.

"Mmm?"

"A while ago — last year I think — when we fought Dark Cupid, wasn't I hit with some sort of dark, hatred spell, and you managed to snap me out of it with a kiss?"

The teenage girl pulled her head back to look at him, now very curious as to what brought this up.

"Yeah, th-that's right. What about it?" she asked.

Adrien's expression turned sheepish, and he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. He appeared to be contemplating a request.

"Well... w-w-what if we tried doing that to fix my curse?"

It took her a moment to realize what he was asking her, but as she figured it out, her bluebell eyes flew wide and her mouth gaped with surprise.

Adrien Agreste was asking her for a _kiss!_

"W-What?!" was all she could sputter out.

 _The_ Adrien Agreste, sweetheart of Paris and charismatic superhero, wanted to kiss her? Marinette could feel the warm happiness inside her stirring, as her heart began to pound and her hands became noticeably clammier. Kissing Adrien only came from her greatest dreams, but she never once imagined that _he_ would be asking _her!_

Seeing her shock, the blond quickly told her, "You c-can say no! It's alright, we don't have to kiss, I just wondered if it might be worth a shot to try and-"

"No Adrien!" she cut him off and tightly gripped his shoulders. "I-I mean I'm sorry for interrupting you, but yes. If you w-want to give it a shot to see if it m-might help then..."

Their eyes found the same position again; gently staring into one another, their gazes filled with utmost love and trust. They both knew that this was so much more than just an attempt at curing his curse.

"I would love to, Chaton," Marinette whispered with pink cheeks and a smile.

Adrien smiled back compassionately, and softly lifted one of his hands to cup her cheek. He lightly tucked her loose hair behind her ear, and she tilted her head back as they drew closer together. With a gentle closing of their eyes and intimate closeness, Marinette and Adrien closed the distance between them by pressing their lips together.

Both of the teenagers sighed into the kiss, feeling a powerful sensation of affection being delivered between them as they held it. Their exchanged warmth engulfed both of them with an emotional fondness, and they found that neither of them wanted it to end as they soon drew apart.

Adrien's hand remained sitting against Marinette's cheek, and he lightly brushed a thumb over her skin as he murmured, "Wow..."

They both blinked slowly at each other, completely caught in the moment and blocking out the entire universe around them. The entire universe, Marinette decided, was right in front of her.

"D-Did it help?" she squeaked out before blushing.

The blond chuckled sweetly, and rubbed his chest for a moment before responding, "Umm... no, nothing h-happened."

She smirked and wrapped her arms more tightly around his neck, bringing him closer against her as they continued to still sway to the beat of the music.

"You just wanted an excuse to kiss me then, didn't you?" she teased.

Adrien lovingly smiled, and once again brushed her hair with his hand. It sent shivers of yearning up her spine, and she leaned into his hold.

"Well, seeing as how it didn't do much, I suppose I did," he quietly responded.

The duo (couple?) gave themselves a few moments for the situation at hand to truly settle in, as the song approached its final verse.

 _I kissed Adrien Agreste! Adrien Agreste kissed me! Oh my god Adrien Agreste and I kissed and it was the best feeling in the world!_ was all Marinette could keep thinking as her smile never faded. She silently wondered if Alya had been watching them, and was currently taking a million photos of them like an overexcited fangirl. She was oblivious to the rest of the world around her.

"Hmmm... you know what our story kind of reminds me of?" Adrien hummed after many moments of silence between them.

"What?"

"A fairytale," he said with a grin. "Just think: a beautiful princess and her noble prince, supporting each other as they go with their love for each other, no matter how difficult things may seem. And how do they end their tale? With a kiss of course."

A laugh of bewilderment and affection escaped Marinette. The more time she spent with this boy, the more she truly realized how much she couldn't imagine being side by side with anyone else.

"God, you're such a sap," she said as she poked his nose.

Adrien took this as an opportunity to cock a grin and release his Chat Noir side. "What can I say? I'm so **furtunate** to have such a **purrfect** partner, that I just had to come off with a cheesy **cattitude**!"

Marinette threw her head back and loudly groaned with fake annoyance, buying her another beautiful laugh from Adrien. In reality, she was smiling wider than she had ever smiled before, adoring every word that he said.

She decided to throw a pun of her own right back at him, as she claimed, "Oh, you have got to be **kitten** me."

"No kittens here M'Lady," he quipped right back.

Marinette rolled her eyes. The rest of the room around her was starting to come back into focus, and as the song played its final notes the rest of the couples began to stop their dances and lower their arms. Her eyes were still fully latched onto Adrien's and, not wanting to let this final moment go to waste, she now lifted her own hands to cup both of his cheeks.

"Shut up and kiss me again," she whispered.

As an acceptance, Adrien smiled and pulled himself closer to her so that their lips came together a second time.

It was a moment that allowed all negative memories and fearful emotions to be lost, and they simply embraced each other tenderly. Marinette knew she could get used to this, and as their second kiss held out closer and longer than their first, she hoped Adrien would want to as well.

* * *

 **A/N:** And there you have it! The longest chapter complete, and I believe it's safe to say that Mari and Adrien have begun a beautiful and devoted relationship :)

Can't say when the next update will be, and unfortunately it may be a long time from now, which makes me feel so bad but you guys are so patient that I am super super grateful! Thanks for the constant love and support guys! Be sure to let me know if there's anything I can improve on! 3333


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